Traffic camera footage shows vehicles driving aggressively before road rage shooting
Traffic camera footage shows motorists aggressively driving on Interstate 70 in the minutes leading up to a road rage shooting that injured one and shut down the interstate during the April 15 morning commute.
Dewayne Pittman, 33, was charged with felony assault in the shooting. Police say he was driving a gold Chevrolet Equinox and fired at a man in a black pickup truck, injuring him, at about 7:06 a.m. on westbound I-70 near Mound Street.
A 911 caller who witnessed the shooting told police the drivers were "brake checking" each other before the shooting. Traffic camera footage released by the Ohio Department of Transportation in response to a public records request appears to corroborate the witness accounts.
Related road rage shooting article: Whitehall man charged with felonious assault in road rage shooting on I-70W in Columbus
Brake checking happens when a driver intentionally brakes suddenly, forcing the car behind them to slow down or stop to avoid a collision. Drivers often do it to punish a driver behind them who they believe is aggressively tailgating or otherwise misbehaving.
In ODOT footage, at 7:02 a.m. near the I-70 and Interstate 71 interchange, the SUV pulls out in front of the black truck, forcing the black truck to brake.
A minute later, another clip shows the black truck driving behind the SUV in the rightmost lane at the I-70 west ramp, slightly slower than surrounding traffic. The truck pulls into the center lane and then swerves back into the right lane directly in front of the SUV. Both vehicles brake.
At 7:06 a.m. near Broad Street, the SUV is driving in the left lane when the black truck overtakes the other vehicle in the right lane. The SUV swerves right toward the truck as it passes, crossing partially into the right lane.
The truck swerves to avoid the SUV, then the SUV merges to the right lane behind the truck, and both vehicles continue driving.
A final clip near Mound Street shows the black truck merging into the rightmost lane and stopping on the shoulder. The SUV appears to exit off the interstate.
Police said they located the SUV at about 9 a.m. and arrested Pittman. He appeared in court on April 16 for an arraignment hearing, and his bond was set at $500,000.
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Traffic camera video shows vehicles before I-70 road rage shooting
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