WHITESTOWN, Ind. — Police across central Indiana are investigating three road rage shootings in the past seven days on interstates in the Indianapolis area.
The rise in road rage comes during a busy week of holiday travel.
A road rage shooting shut down Interstate 65 northbound for about two hours late Wednesday afternoon near the Whitestown Parkway exit. One person was shot and left in critical condition.
It appears from the tire tracks in the grass, a broken fence, debris and skid marks that a semitruck drove off Interstate 65 and wound up on Perry Worth Road. The truck sat jackknifed on the frontage road as police investigated the incident. Whitestown Police said there was no danger to the public but that the suspect was still at large.
Also on Wednesday afternoon, Indiana State Police arrested a man for allegedly firing a handgun from his car at a semi on Interstate 70 in Hancock County. The driver of the semi was not injured. But there were bullet holes on the passenger side of the cab.
On June 27, a driver reported someone fired shots at their car on I-70 near State Road 39 in Morgan County. Investigators located the suspect's car and arrested an 18-year-old man in Indianapolis Monday.
Indiana State Police report 40 shootings on Indianapolis area interstates so far in 2024. That compares to 55 in all of 2023.
13News has interviewed Sgt. John Perrine with the Indiana State Police post in Indianapolis multiple times this year about road rage shootings.
"It's dangerous when you engage in road rage and we see time and time again that these road rage incidents are leading to violence and gunfire,” said Perrine in a February interview following a road rage shooting. “And so, we're discouraging anybody from engaging in any type of road rage."
He repeated that message after a road rage shooting in March.
"When people start getting angry, and they develop a moment of rage that's starting to escalate so quickly to violence, it's concerning,” said Perrine. “And so, we're asking or telling people - do not engage in any type of road rage, whether you're the instigator or the victim."
What happened in the Whitestown road rage incident Wednesday is still unclear. But it's clear that more drivers in Indianapolis are armed and dangerous.