UPDATED Wednesday, July 8, 2009 --- 7:00 p.m.

It all started on Verona road with something as simple as one vehicle cutting another off.

A driver that had his wife and three kids in the car got mad and exchanged gestures with another man. He then followed him onto the beltline.

Then the other driver slammed on his breaks, so the man with his wife and kids in the car would hit him.

"That's very disturbing because you're not only putting the life of the driver at risk but you're putting other occupants of the vehicle and then other drivers who are on the roadway," Madison Police Lt. Stephanie Wilson said. "So it's not a good situation at all. It just doesn't add up to a lot of common sense."

"I pull in and sure enough there were people arguing," said Eric Novotny, the deputy who first arrived at the scene. "They both saw me and started yelling at me that the other, you know, so basically. until the Madison Police Department showed up, I just kept people seperated and tried to cool tempers a little bit but it was, they were yelling and screaming at each other."

When police got there they actually did find a loaded gun in Hawkins's trunk. He was arrested and the other driver was also charged with reckless driving.

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Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2009 --- 10:47 a.m.

From Madison Police:

A 29-year-old Madison man, Derwin Jerome Hawkins, was arrested Tuesday morning following a road rage incident.

The victim, a 39-year-old man, was driving with his wife and three children, when he says a gold Cadillac cut him off on Verona Road.

The victim and the Cadillac driver proceeded to exchange gestures back and forth.

The two drivers headed eastbound on the West Beltline Highway. The victim, and an independent witness, say the suspect - who also had a child in his car - hit the brakes on the busy highway causing the victim's car to run into the Cadillac.

The victim then followed the suspect onto Todd Drive, then Curry Parkway, where both pulled over.

The victim walked up to the Cadillac, and the suspect punched him in the mouth.

The blow split the victim's lip and cracked a tooth.

The victim says the suspect next threatened to get a gun to kill him, his wife, and his children. The suspect opened the trunk of his car.

About the same time, a Dane County Sheriff's deputy pulled up, and the suspect quickly shut the trunk.

A Madison Police officer arrived, and recovered a loaded .40 caliber Smith and Wesson from the Cadillac’s trunk.

The suspect said he had opened the trunk to hide marijuana, and had no intention of getting the weapon out. A bag of marijuana was found in the center console of the car.

Arrested:
Derwin Jerome Hawkins, 29, Madison
Charges: Substantial Battery, Disorderly Conduct while Armed, and Possession of THC (marijuana).