'Road rage' shot barely misses boy
Single bullet goes through driver's seat, stops at father's skin
Police called it road rage Wednesday — one shot from a .45 caliber at a Jeep stopped in traffic, carrying a father and his two young sons. It happened around 6:30 p.m. near 3500 South and 3200 West, said West Valley City Police Sgt. Bill Merritt.
"The victim says he saw the suspect driving erratically up the center median," Merritt said. The father, who was driving with his 3- and 7-year-old sons, "promised he didn't try to start anything, but the suspect, for whatever reason targeted him. He reached over his passenger and through an open window fired one round into the back passenger door."
The bullet hit the door and likely should have hit the 7-year-old, Merritt said.
"Something inside the door changed the bullet's trajectory," he said. "It hit something inside that door. Had it not, it would have gone clean through."
The bullet angled to the left, missing the child and striking the back of the driver's seat. The bullet went through the seat and the man's sweater, before stopping at his skin. Police found the casing on the driver's seat.
The boy suffered minor scrapes on his right knee from either a piece of the door or a bullet fragment, police said. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but Merritt said, "He'll be back playing soccer in 30 minutes."
Police were searching for the shooter Wednesday night but had little to go on. Merritt said the shot was fired from a maroon vehicle, but police did not have even a partial license plate. There were four Hispanics inside the car, police said. The front passenger was female and the driver, who police say fired the shot, and the back-seat passengers were male.
As paramedics checked the man and his sons, they joked about luck and taking them to Las Vegas, Merritt said.
"I think that 7-year-old had an angel sitting on his lap," Merritt said.
E-mail: afalk@desnews.com
Recent comments
I am the mother & girlfriend to all victims that were in that jeep...
the mom | May 9, 2008 at 1:34 p.m.
On my way home tonight, a white Ford pickup truck cut into a turn...
Tired of rude drivers | May 8, 2008 at 11:32 p.m.
To validate irresponsible behavior by calling it "road rage&...
JPearson | May 8, 2008 at 11:18 p.m.
