SALT LAKE CITY — A 50-year-old man was killed early Monday after a road rage shooting that shut down traffic on one of Salt Lake City's busiest roadways during the morning commute.
The shooting occurred just before 5:30 a.m. on eastbound State Road 201 near 900 West. Only two vehicles were believed to be involved in the incident, with one driver firing at the other.
The suspect, 44-year-old Thomas Jim Long, was arrested on suspicion of murder, aggravated assault and reckless driving.
According to police, Long claimed he shot the victim in self-defense.
Long was driving a Ford Explorer, and the deceased victim was in a Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Investigators reviewed dashcam footage from a witness. In the video, they said it appeared that the victim initially cut Long off. Long then retaliated by swerving in from of the victim, cutting him off and brake-checking him, according to the arrest report. Police say this resulted in the victim colliding with Long's vehicle multiple times.
At one point, the victim swerved his truck into Long's SUV. Long then went in front of the victim and forced both of their vehicles into a concrete barrier, police said. After that, Long allegedly shot the victim. Police said there were 15 bullet casings found in Long's SUV.
Long is being held in jail without bail.
Eastbound SR-201 was closed at Redwood Road until 1:30 p.m. when it reopened. The investigation continues with officials collecting evidence and identifying witnesses.
"If there's other individuals that may have seen this incident or have any type of video footage that could help us out, we encourage them to contact the Utah Highway Patrol dispatch center and let us know what information they have," said Lt. Cameron Roden with the Utah Highway Patrol.
As the number of road rage incidents continues to rise in Utah, the state passed legislation that went into effect over the summer to increase penalties for violations and allow vehicles to be impounded.
Since the law went into effect, Roden said UHP has investigated over 20 instances of road rage, 10 in August and 11 in September, although not all were as severe as the one that occurred Monday.
"We want to make sure that people maintain control of their emotions that we help, get people to and from, and that people can travel on our roadways here in Utah safely," Roden added.
