KEARNS, Utah, June 18, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Three men, one with a shotgun, targeted a Kearns man in a road-rage incident early Saturday morning.
Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell said dispatchers received a call just after 6 a.m. from a witness in Kearns who saw the trio shooting at another driver.
“The woman said it happened near 6200 South 3200 West when she witnessed what she thought was a Chevy of some sort, maybe an Avalanche, shooting at a man in a Chevy Cobalt,” Bell said.
“Both cars then left in opposite directions. The woman thought maybe her car had been been hit too, but we confirmed there was no damage to her car.”
The victim, George, 25, filed his own police report from home. Sanchez spoke to Gephardt Daily in an exclusive interview.
Sanchez said the whole incident started as he turned onto a street and three men in a Chevy truck cut him off.
“They pulled over after cutting me off, and as I passed by them they were yelling all sorts of things at me, so I flipped them off, ” Sanchez said.
“That made them more angry, and they followed me onto 6200 South. They kept trying to pass me and were tailgating me. It was really bad road rage.”
Sanchez said when they stopped at the red light at Bangerter and 6200 South he kept watching them in his rear view mirror and hoped the incident would end there.
“I thought maybe they would let it go, but they they passed me and as they pulled up next to me in the turning lane, and partially into oncoming lanes of traffic, the backseat passenger pulled out a shotgun and shot at my car,” Sanchez said.
“They shot my driver’s side door and as they sped off, the man with the gun switched sides and stuck his head out the passenger side window and fired at me two more times.”
Sanchez said he was not sure what first made the men angry or why they cut him off, but believes it is a clear case of road rage. He said he does not know any of the occupants of the vehicle.
Sanchez said people who look at him may assume he is affiliated with a gang because of all of his tattoos, or because has a bandana hanging from his rear-view mirror that matches his rims.
But Sanchez said he has never been involved with or affiliated with any gang.
“I have a lot of tattoos, all of them about family life. I just am a guy trying to take care of my family,” he said. “I am just very grateful that my 3-year-old was not with me when it happened.
“I have never even been involved in anything like this. I hear about road rage and people shooting at other people on the news, I never thought it would happen to me. ”
Sanchez said there were three males in the vehicle, which he said looked like either a silver Chevy Avalanche or Silverado, with Texas plates.
Unified Police are looking for the suspects and are asking anyone with information on the suspects or the vehicle they were driving to please call them at 801-743-7000.
