Person shot and killed in road rage incident on SR 201; another in custody

SALT LAKE CITY — One person is dead after the Utah Highway Patrol said a shooting occurred Monday morning on State Route 201.

Lt. Cam Roden of the UHP said shots were fired around 5:20 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of the highway near 900 West. The victim, a 50-year-old man, was subsequently killed and a 44-year-old man was also taken into custody.

On Monday evening, a probable cause statement identified the suspect as Thomas Jim Long.

The probable cause statement also added that there were bullet holes in the passenger window of a black Dodge Ram. And the unresponsive victim had injuries “consistent with gunshot wounds.”

Additionally, another vehicle recorded dashcam footage of the incident. The probable cause statement continued that footage showed the vehicle driven by Long was cut off by the victim.

Long allegedly engaged in aggressive driving behavior that included checking the brakes and cutting off the victim. The footage also showed Long allegedly changing lanes without signaling and swerving in front of the victim.

UHP said the two men’s cars collided on the highway and the suspect shot the victim multiple times. It is unknown whether the victim was killed by the shooting or the accident.

Authorities closed the highway at Redwood Road and 900 West while police investigated. Roden said they are still trying to figure out what happened around 10 a.m. Roden reported that investigators were still working to confirm the exact time frame of the incident.

Roden reported that the other person involved had no injuries and was in custody cooperating with law enforcement. He said an accident did indeed occur, but medical investigators were needed to determine the exact cause of death.

The probable cause statement said Long was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of murder, reckless driving and aggravated assault.

“We want people to take responsibility and not take things like this lightly,” Roden said.

The Salt Lake City School District alerted parents that school buses stuck in “extremely heavy traffic” would be late to pick up students.

Roden reported that the road rage incident only involved two people in separate cars. There were no other occupants in either vehicle. At approximately 9:55 a.m., both vehicles remained at the scene while investigators collected evidence that was expected to keep the area closed for two to three hours. He advised people to look for alternative routes.

“As far as road rage goes, it’s something we’ve had our eye on for quite some time,” Roden said. “We’ve had a lot of incidents in the last few years.”

Roden said UHP has investigated more than 40 traffic violence-related incidents since July, when a new traffic violence law went into effect to help officers track traffic violence incidents.

“We hope this new law will help give law enforcement a tool to address road rage and make people think twice about any type of road rage situation,” Roden said.

“Every time there is a road rage incident on our highway, it is a concern for us. We want to make sure that people are in control of their emotions, that we help them get back and forth, and that people here in Utah can travel safely on our roads,” Roden said.

Roden said road rage can be avoided by keeping your emotions under control and leaving the scene of a heated accident when necessary.

“We need to be kind and polite on our streets, but we also need to keep control of our emotions,” he said.

He recommended that people move away from traffic during confrontations, get out and give themselves space.

“This way we all stay safe and don’t put other people at risk,” Roden said.

Roden asked that anyone with information, including footage, contact UHP’s dispatch center.

Contributors: Karah Brackin and Carlysle Price, KSL TV

This is breaking news. It can be updated.