HAZEL PARK (WWJ) - A heated argument between drivers in stop-and-go traffic on an Oakland County freeway escalated into shots fired during Friday's snowstorm, troopers said.
According to Michigan State Police, the alleged road rage incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. while heavy, accumulating snowfall worsened road conditions on the I-75 and I-696 interchange in Hazel Park.
The wet snow quickly piled up on the roadway, causing slow and treacherous travel for drivers commuting through Oakland County. It was during this part of the storm that authorities were contacted by a driver who claimed to have been shot at.
The driver told 911 operators that he had exited off on I-696 in stop-and-go traffic and was trying to get on southbound I-75 when another driver in a black F-150 pickup truck got upset.
The caller said the other driver may have thought he cut him off at the interchange and the argument grew heated from there.
"The two drivers rolled down their windows and began verbally arguing with each other," state police said in an update to the case. "The argument escalated until the suspect pointed a black pistol and fired one shot at the caller's driver door."
The victim was able to get off the freeway at 9 Mile Road and was unharmed in the alleged shooting. The suspect left the scene and his black truck was last seen exiting at 8 Mile Road, police said.
As troopers investigated, they discovered a single bullet in the victim's vehicle door.
"This is just another case of two drivers not being able to de-escalate from a silly traffic incident," First Lieutenant Mike Shaw stated. "But as we often see, it escalated into gun violence, and put everyone in danger."
The winter storm slammed into the Metro area in the mid-afternoon hours on Friday, March 3, greatly affecting cities in the northern and western counties. Oakland, Livingston, Lapeer and Genesee County saw snowfall totals as high as 10 inches.
The National Weather Service had warned the storm would make travel "near impossible" during the evening time -- and they weren't wrong. Snow fell in areas at a rate of 2 inches or more per hour making some roadways, like those in West Bloomfield and Auburn Hills, impassable.
