Man killed on Texas highway after pointing gun at another armed man during road rage incident
Thomas McDonald
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Fort Worth Police are investigating a road rage incident that left one man dead after pointing a gun at another armed man whose children were in the car with him.
“I saw a motorcycle. A green motorcycle speed pass me up between me and the next car. Maybe 10-15 seconds later, I hear four gunshots,” witness Isel Valenzuela recalled. “I look over and I see him laying there. With blood all on his chest and his stomach.”
Police say the motorcyclist, 19-year-old JaDerek Gray, was swerving in and out of lanes and driving in between multiple vehicles, which is illegal in Texas. His aggressive driving resulted in him nearly hitting an SUV before pulling ahead of it and stopping in the middle of the highway.
Gray parked his motorcycle in the middle of traffic, walked up to the SUV and pulled out a gun, and pointed it at the driver. The driver of the SUV asked Gray to drop his weapon, Gray refused and continued to approach the SUV. The driver then pulls his weapon and fires at Gray, striking him multiple times and killing him.
Valenzuela says he wasn’t sure exactly what was happening but rushed to assist Gray after he was shot. He applied pressure to the wounds and stayed with Gray until paramedics arrived.
“At the end of the day, he’s still a human being. I would have done it for anybody,” he said. “I don’t know how it went down, but it’s something that at the end of the day could have been avoided and they both could have made it home.”
The driver was the first to call 911 according to Police and is cooperating fully with the investigation. According to police, he feared for his life and the safety of his children who were in the SUV with him at the time.
Police are asking drivers to remain calm while driving and not to escalate tensions while on the road. “When you’re on 35 and you’re on the freeway and you have a disagreement with someone, it’s okay. Let it go. Just keep driving,” said Fort Worth Officer Tracy Carter.