A Salt Lake City man has been jailed after he fired several shots at another vehicle on Interstate 15 on Monday, wounding two men, police say.
According to police, the 31-year-old man was driving his black pickup truck south on I-15 near Lehi about 7:35 a.m., when there was “a road rage incident” between him and the driver of a white pickup truck. Police did not say what set things off, but according to witnesses, the two trucks were “swerving at each other.”
The man told police the white truck was “swerving hard” toward him and becoming “more aggressive,” so he shot four bullets, “aiming for the tires.” He went on to say that the white truck moved to the right and then “appeared to be swerving back toward him,” so he shot at it again, firing three or four more times.
His shots did not hit the tires of the white truck, but police say he did wound both the driver and one of his passengers.
The man told police he was attempting to take exit 279 off I-15 when the white truck swerved into the back right side of his truck, causing him to crash into a roadside barrier.
According to police, the man was traveling about 70 mph when he fired his handgun out the passenger side window of his truck while driving in “moderate to heavy passenger traffic.”
The driver of the white truck, who was seriously wounded, drove to American Fork Hospital, where he underwent surgery. The passenger’s wound was not life-threatening, and both people are expected to recover.
The shooting brought traffic to a halt on I-15 in Lehi for about two hours.
Pending formal charges, the alleged shooter was booked into the Utah County jail for investigation of firing a gun from a vehicle, reckless endangerment and five counts of aggravated assault. He is being held without bail.
