A shooting followed by a violent crash is being investigated as a possible case of road rage, and it was all caught on camera, according to police.
Surveillance video showed the terrifying moments a pickup truck slammed into multiple vehicles at an auto repair shop along the Eastex Freeway feeder road north of Hopper.
At the hospital, deputies discovered the driver had been shot twice before he died. A passenger had minor injuries.
Investigators believe the trouble started after a ‘car rally’ in a Home Depot parking lot, not too far from where the crash occurred.
The surveillance video is dark but in it, you see a bright flash as the pickup truck crashed into several vehicles parked in a lot at Eastex Collision Repair.
It flipped multiple times before slamming into a storage container.
“We’ve got five, so far. Two of which belong to our company, the other three are customers’ vehicles,” said General Manager Dustin Dieter.
Witnesses told authorities they believe the truck and a red sedan, possibly a Ford, were speeding north on the Eastex Freeway when shots were fired.
“The description that we’ve gotten from some other witnesses said that it almost appeared to them that they were racing and that they were traveling over 100 miles an hour,” said Sgt. Ben Beal with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
After losing control and flying off the freeway, the pickup ended up on its side against the storage container which is used seasonally as a fireworks stand.
Dieter said he’s thankful no one else was hurt and that their company will help customers file claims with their insurance companies.
“Fortunately, they came off of the freeway. Unfortunately, it’s our property, but I’d rather it be our property than somebody else’s life,” Dieter added.