A Florida man has been arrested following a road rage incident on Interstate 80 near Kimball Wednesday evening.
At approximately 9:30 p.m. MT Wednesday, July 4, the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) received a report of a man shooting from one vehicle into another on I-80 near mile marker 20.
The victims, driving westbound in a 2005 Chrysler minivan, reported that they had come upon the suspect vehicle, a 2000 Kia Rio, traveling at 45 miles per hour through a one-lane construction zone. The driver of the minivan honked and flashed its lights in an attempt to urge the suspect vehicle to drive faster.
When the construction zone ended and both lanes were open, the suspect vehicle stayed in the passing lane, traveling slowly. The minivan was attempting to pass in the right lane, when the passenger of the Kia Rio fired a single shot from a handgun into the minivan. The bullet went through the driver’s window and lodged in the dash. The driver of the minivan suffered minor injuries after being struck by bullet fragments and broken glass.
The victims stopped their vehicle, while the suspect vehicle continued driving westbound into Wyoming. NSP coordinated with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, which was able to locate the vehicle and take the suspect into custody.
Kevin Austin, 47, of Cocoa, Florida, will be returned to Nebraska on an arrest warrant for 2nd degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.