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A stretch of the Interstate 15 southbound collector near 1600 South reopened around 10:30 Friday night after the Utah Highway Patrol wrapped up its investigation at the scene of a shooting that happened there during the evening commute.
The story sounds like a case of road rage, and troopers say that's definitely one possibility. They say the victim may have been driving sporadically because he was texting, and that's what sparked this shooting.
"[The driver of a] dark-colored vehicle was upset at what he was doing. We don't know how many people were in the suspect's vehicle, but they pulled up alongside, exchanged some pleasantries, and then the right front passenger, from what we're hearing, fire some shots," UHP Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said.
Investigators don't know how many shots were fired at the victim in the SUV, but they know at least one hit the driver under his left arm. He managed to pull over, and the passenger in his car called 911.
While authorities think road rage is a possibility, they are also looking at whether this is gang-related.
More than a dozen officers went through the collector Friday night looking for evidence. They obviously had a large area to search because the cars were going so fast and traveled a long distance in a short time.
Officers throughout the valley are following leads. They are looking for a dark, two-door or four-door sports car. Because this happened during rush hour, they are hoping witnesses saw something and did not stop. If anyone has information or saw anything, they're asked to call the Utah Highway Patrol at 801-887-3800.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
