Sheriff: Grant County road rage incident ends in fatal shooting

FAIRMOUNT, Ind. (WISH) — A dispute between two drivers on the interstate in Grant County led to a shooting that left a semitractor-trailer driver dead, investigators said.

The semi driver who died had not yet been publicly identified as of Monday afternoon.

A 911 caller about 10:15 p.m. Sunday notified authorities of a possible road rage incident involving his passenger vehicle and the semi on I-69 near the State Road 26 exit, Sheriff Del Garcia said Monday on Facebook. That’s the interchange for Fairmount and Hartford City.

Garcia told News 8 on Monday morning, “What we know right now is that one of our local residents exited onto State Road 26 and was followed by the semi. The issues were between their two vehicles. Our local resident was on his way home, I believe, from a fishing trip. From what I understand, it was with his family.”

Investigators believe the semi followed the Grant County resident, who’d called 911, off the interstate and to his home. The Grant County resident was not identified in a news release issued Monday afternoon. No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon as the investigation was incomplete.

While driving on I-69, the sheriff said, “From what we understand, our local resident had a laser-type (instrument) pointed at him, which he believed to be a weapon, so he fired upon the semi, striking the driver.”

The semi traveled about two-thirds of a mile through three cornfields on State Road 26. A fire happened when the semi struck a silo in the 5000 block of East County Road 975 South. The semi driver was later found dead inside the semi cab.

News 8’s Gregg Montgomery contributed to this article.