Convicted road rage killer shot dead by driver in Florida
PLANT CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – A man who had just been released from prison after serving time for a road rage killing was shot and killed during a road rage encounter in Plant City, Fl. on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
It happened at 7 a.m. near the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Branch Forbes Road.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, one driver stopped his car in front of the other, got out of his pickup truck and approached the motorist behind him. That’s when an argument escalated between the two.
Investigators said the driver in the car, 42-year-old Robert Padgett, warned Gary Lynn Durham, who was the driver of the pickup truck, before he pulled out a gun and shot him.
When paramedics arrived, they found Padgett giving CPR to Durham, who later died.
According to the sheriff’s office, Durham was just released from prison for killing a man during a road rage incident. Durham spent 11 years behind bars.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said that Padgett will not be arrested and he is cooperating with the investigation.
“He was trying to do the right thing and make sure the individual would survive,” said HCSO Col. Donna Lusczynski. Padgett was released by deputies pending review of the case by the State’s Attorney’s Office.
The intersection will be closed for the next few hours as the investigation continues, deputies said. Drivers are asked to avoid the area and take alternate routes.
