Yesterday, I wrote a diary about a shooting in Maryland by an out of state police officer during a road rage incident. At the time of my diary, there were not a lot of details about the incident.
Today, more information has become available. According to The Washington Post, it appears that Walker (the shooter) was in the left lane of Route 3, a busy road in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and that Harvey (the deceased) was in the right lane after pulling out of a Wawa where he had stopped to get a drink. Right past the Wawa, drivers in both lanes can make a left turn so that they can head onto I-97, a major interstate in the area which goes to Baltimore.
As reported by The Washington Post, Adam Pidel, the passenger in Harvey's car, gave an account of what he observed.
Harvey’s car was in the right-hand lane. Walker’s van was beside it in the left-hand lane. As the two began to turn, Walker’s van suddenly cut in front of Harvey’s car, Pidel said.
“Harvey got angry and used the shoulder to avoid being struck and then continued driving on the shoulder,” according to the report.
As the two vehicles progressed north on Route 3, each swerved repeatedly “nearly striking each other several times as each intentionally swerved at each other,” the report said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/....
Walker then pulled onto the side of the road. Harvey followed. Harvey then approached Walker's car. According to one passing motorist, Harvey approached Walker "in an 'aggressive manner.'" According to Pidel (Harvey's passenger). Walker then used his gun to shoot Harvey, first in the thigh, and then a few seconds later, Walker fired a second shot which killed Harvey.
Walker's attorneys have indicated that Harvey threatened Walker's family. Walker's wife and three children were in the car.
The police have indicated that there were conflicting accounts of what occurred. However, they did reach the conclusion
that Walker “did feloniously, without malice or aforethought, kill and slay Joseph Dale Harvey."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/....
There is no indication in The Washington Post story whether the gun that Walker used was his service revolver or a personal weapon. Walker is a police officer in New Jersey and was certainly not on duty when the incident occurred.
Whether or not the gun used was Walker's service revolver, a personal legally bought weapon, or an illegally bought weapon, this story illustrates the danger of carrying a gun. If Walker did not have a gun, it is doubtful that this road rage incident would have ended in a fatality. Maybe the two men would have argued, and perhaps there would have been a fist fight that resulted in personal injury. Maybe the police would have been called and one or both of the men would have been charged with assault and battery. But the odds are that Harvey would be alive today.
But because two men apparently lost their cool as a result of a driving mistake, one man is dead, and three children may grow up with their father in an out of state prison rather than with their father working as a local police officer.