Traffic camera footage shows vehicles driving aggressively before road rage shooting
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
25-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Missing woman feared dead in California desert found alive and safe in Colorado
Kelsey Pittman's family had already reported her missing weeks earlier when authorities found her car parked outside Death Valley National Park. Pittman was known to go by 'Infinity Jane' or 'Jane Jones,' but her family had few clues about where she was — until their search eventually led them to a rugged part of the Sonoran Desert where people prefer to live off the grid. Pittman was known to visit Las Vegas, but the last time anyone heard from her was in November when she made contact with local police in Utah. Besides her abandoned vehicle, there were no signs the 33-year-old was in the Inyo County area, or camping out in Death Valley, Joshua Tree or Slab City. But now, the search is over. Authorities this week said she was found alive — in Colorado. 'The Inyo County Sheriff's Office is relieved to announce that Kelsey Pittman has been located alive in the state of Colorado,' the agency said in a Facebook post Tuesday. Out of respect for her and her family's privacy, the department said it would provide no other details about the case. The news closes the chapter on a months-long search that involved law enforcement agencies in multiple states. Pittman's family in North Carolina reported her missing in November. Inyo County Sheriff's deputies first became involved in the case when they responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked near Slab City on Feb. 9. Deputies found a 2009 Chevrolet HHR with North Carolina plates parked in the area. The vehicle was registered to Pittman. Deputies searched the vehicle and the area but did not find her. A missing person's investigation was launched. Even her mother came to Inyo County to join in the search, the Sheriff's Office announced earlier this month in a news release. The Slab City community is made up of RV dwellers, artists and other bohemian living off-the-grid. Conditions in the area where Pittman's vehicle was found are notoriously harsh, and hikers have been known to become disoriented in extreme heat and disappear and die in the surrounding desert. Investigators coordinated with multiple police agencies, drone pilots, cadaver dog handlers, and volunteer search-and-rescue crews to look for Pittman, until they exhausted those efforts. In announcing her discovery, Inyo County officials thanked search-and-rescue workers for their efforts.
USA Today
25-07-2025
- USA Today
Missing woman's empty car discovered near Slab City. Months later, she's found alive.
A North Carolina woman has been found alive in Colorado nine months after she was reported missing, authorities announced earlier this week. Kelsey Pittman, 33, was reported missing in November 2024 by her family after they lost contact with her, according to the Inyo County Sheriff's Office in Bishop, California. On Feb. 9, an unidentified individual contacted the agency, alerting officials to a suspicious vehicle, a 2009 Chevrolet HHR, near Slab City, a remote California tourist attraction about 63 miles south of Joshua Tree. Many of the residents there live as part of an alternative community, which has previously been described as a 'drifter's utopia.' After locating the vehicle, police were able to confirm the car was registered to Pittman. Though police searched the car and surrounding area, they were not able to track down Pittman's whereabouts, leading to an extensive missing person investigation and search effort, authorities said in a July 22 release posted to social media. It's not clear why Pittman's car was located in California and police did not provide details regarding where she had been during her disappearance. 'Between February and June 2025, ICSO coordinated with multiple law enforcement agencies, drone teams, cadaver dog handlers, and volunteer search and rescue crews,' the statement read. 'Despite exhaustive ground and aerial searches, no additional physical evidence was found at the site.' Additional details will not be released out of respect for Pittman and her family, the sheriff's office said. 'We thank our ICSO investigative team, along with the many law enforcement partners, search and rescue volunteers, and community members who assisted in this case and helped share information,' the statement concluded.
New York Post
25-07-2025
- New York Post
North Carolina woman Kelsey Pittman found alive nine months after vanishing near Death Valley
A North Carolina resident was shockingly found alive nine months after she went missing and her car was discovered abandoned near California's Death Valley National Park. 'The Inyo County Sheriff's Office is relieved to announce that Kelsey Pittman has been located alive in the state of Colorado,' the Inyo County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook Tuesday. Police did not provide details about how Pittman vanished or where she had spent the past nine months before she was discovered three states away. 3 Kelsey Pittman was found alive in Colorado. Inyo County Sheriff's Office 'Out of respect for her privacy and that of her family, no further details will be released,' authorities added. Pittman's family reported the 33-year-old missing in November 2024, which is when she had contact with law enforcement in Utah, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office said in May. Deputies and the Death Valley National Park Service launched a months-long search for Pittman after her car was found in a remote area located off Highway 190 on Feb. 9, 2025. The secluded spot is private property called 'Slab City,' which is located outside of the park's boundaries and 'commonly used by campers during the winter months,' according to police. However, authorities were not able to find any 'additional physical evidence' regarding her disappearance after ground and aerial searches. 3 Pittman was reported missing in November 2024. Inyo County Sheriff's Office 'Upon arrival, deputies confirmed the vehicle—a 2009 Chevrolet HHR—was registered to Kelsey Pittman,' the Inyo County Sheriff's Office added in their recent statement on Tuesday. 'A thorough search of both the vehicle and the surrounding area, however, revealed no sign of Pittman. This led to the initiation of an extensive missing person investigation and search effort.' Between February and June 2025, a series of drone teams, cadaver dog handlers and volunteer search and rescue crews looked for Pittman but came up empty until Tuesday. Pittman is one of a series of missing people who were found alive in unexpected ways in recent months. 3 Pittman's car was found near an area 'commonly used by campers during the winter months,' according to cops. Mario Tama Hiker Tiffany Slaton was found in May 2025, three weeks after she went missing in California's eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Slaton was caught in a blizzard and survived by taking shelter in an unlocked cabin at a closed resort. The hiker survived by eating leeks before the resort owner discovered her and fed her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
