A Lakeland man has been arrested after threatening another motorist with a gun during a road-rage incident on the Polk Parkway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

LAKELAND — A Lakeland man was arrested Wednesday following an early morning road rage incident on the Polk Parkway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A man called the Tampa Bay Regional Communications Center at 8:36 a.m. to report that another motorist had threatened him with a firearm near mile marker 3, according to FHP reports.

The man told troopers he was heading west on the Polk Parkway in the left lane going about 70 mph, when he saw a black SUV tailgating him. The SUV’s horn began honking, and the honking continued for about a minute, the man said.

When the SUV passed him in the left emergency lane — partially driving on the grass — the driver was holding a black handgun, the man said.

The man told troopers the driver tapped the gun on his chin and pointed it directly at the man’s vehicle, then the driver sped up, cut him off and slammed on his brakes — almost causing a collision, according to the man. The man told troopers he was in fear for his life.

The FHP got the man’s description of the driver, then spoke to a female passenger in his vehicle. The woman had taken a photo of the driver of the black SUV, and a photo of the license plate on the SUV, troopers said.

A second passenger, the man’s mother, also was interviewed, according to the FHP. She told troopers she heard her son yell "gun," and that she also was in fear for her life.

Troopers tracked the tag to David Alexander Turcios, 45, and went to his residence at 3612 Frentress Drive in Lakeland.

A woman at the home said Turcios was not home and had gone to work at the Elite Wheels Warehouse in Tampa, the FHP said.

Troopers drove there and asked Turcios about what had happened on the Polk Parkway that morning.

When troopers went to his workplace and arrested him, they said Turcios admitted he’d honked his horn and tried to pass a slow vehicle, troopers said.

Turcios told troopers that he and the other driver were yelling at each other, and then someone in the other vehicle threw a clear bottle at his SUV, striking the passenger side.

Turcios said he had his cellphone in his hand and tapped his chin with that, and he denied pointing a gun at the other driver, according to the FHP report.

When asked if he had a gun, Turcios said he did and it was in the glove box of his vehicle, the FHP said.

Troopers looked in the glove box of the SUV and found a black Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun with blue stripes on the handle, according to the FHP.

As troopers arrested Turcios, he told them he was having trouble breathing and wanted medical attention, the FHP said. However, when emergency personnel arrived, Turcios refused to be taken to the hospital, according to reports.

Turcios is being held at Polk County Jail without bail on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

Kathy Leigh Berkowitz can be reached at kberkowitz@theledger.com or at 863-802-7558. Follow her on Twitter @kberkowitzthel1.