Police look for man who fled scene of crash, came back and shot other driver in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville police are looking for a man in a red Toyota Corolla who they say didn’t stop after a crash but then came back to shoot the other driver after officers left.

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Police are calling the incident road rage. It happened between the Corolla and a black Chevy Silverado Sunday night on the Hart Expressway near the Emerson exit.

A police report by JSO said the victim in the Silverado was waiting for a tow truck after officers left the scene. The victim told police the man in the Corolla returned to the scene, walked up to the driver’s side of the truck, and fired a round into the door, striking the victim in his leg.

At the scene, Action News Jax found a black Silverado that matched the police’s description of the victim’s vehicle. Action News Jax saw several bullet holes in the truck’s windshield. A JSO report said the victim told officers he shot back at the man in the Corolla, as the suspect took off.

Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said the victim was acting out of self-defense, but the man in the Corolla faces serious consequences.

“With no impulse control and no one in the car saying, ‘that’s crazy, no, no, we’re not doing that,’ he goes back, and he commits an attempted murder. So now it’s a life felony. Now his life is going to be entirely upside down if he gets convicted of that crime,” Carson explained.

He added that he has seen an increase in extreme cases of road rage like this one. He said stress from the COVID-19 pandemic is a contributing factor, as everybody is a little more on edge these days.

“Nerves are frayed because of the many things that are happening in the country and so that intensifies the problem,” he said.

Carson says if you ever find yourself in a road rage incident, don’t engage.

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“Slow down and stay out of their way. It may upset you that they’re driving by quickly, but you’re not an enforcement officer, that’s not your job,” Carson added.

Police said an officer found the victim using his belt as a tourniquet for his leg. Police said he was taken to a local hospital.

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