A San Jose man was sentenced to 60 days in county jail after prosecutors said he intentionally caused a crash with a semi-truck during a road rage incident and then attempted to defraud his insurance company.

Ken Pham Tran was convicted of felony insurance fraud, felony vandalism, and misdemeanor reckless driving following the January 2025 incident on Highway 101.

According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, Tran believed the truck had cut him off in traffic, became enraged, accelerated to catch up, and repeatedly moved in front of the truck while deliberately slamming on his brakes.Dashcam footage showed Tran brake-checking the truck multiple times.

Although the truck driver tried to change lanes to avoid a collision, Tran allegedly maneuvered back in front of the truck before braking again, leading to the crash.Afterward, Tran reportedly called 911 and falsely claimed that the truck driver had struck his stopped vehicle and fled the scene.Prosecutors also said he omitted the true circumstances of the collision when filing a claim with Progressive Insurance.

However, another motorist who witnessed the incident contacted authorities and reported that Tran had been driving aggressively and brake-checking the semi-truck.Investigators also relied on dashcam video, which contradicted Tran's account and supported the truck driver's version of events.

In addition to his jail sentence, a judge ordered Tran to pay approximately $1,200 in restitution to Progressive Insurance and just over $3,000 to the trucking company for losses related to the crash.Authorities said the case demonstrates how video evidence and witness testimony can expose fraudulent claims arising from dangerous driving behavior.