Road Rage

Maryland State Police said yesterday they are seeking a driver in an apparent road-rage shooting on southbound Interstate 795 in Owings Mills that left a Hampstead woman with a bullet wound in the foot. Just before midnight Friday, police say, a motorist pulled alongside a Chevrolet Blazer driven by Everett L. Poole, 32, of Lineboro and fired a single shot into the Blazer's passenger door, grazing the foot of passenger Josie M. Steger, 31, of Hampstead. The shooter continued south on I-795 as Poole pulled over.

Baltimore Police have identified a man killed in a possible road rage incident over the weekend. The man who died was identified as Leon Cannady, 36, of the 2900 block of Clifton Avenue in Walbrook, according to police. At about 2:55 a.m. Sunday, police were called to the 2800 block of Erdman Avenue in Belair-Edison for a shooting, where they found an adult black male with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 3:17 a.m. Police believe the incident may have been the result of road rage and are asking anyone with information to call 410-396-2100.

When I read a recent survey that rated Baltimore and Washington among the nation's top five cities for road rage, I thought back to a driving incident about 10 years ago. While visiting D.C. from my home in Boston, I triggered the angst of an officer who pulled me over on New York Avenue. "Did you know that you ran that yellow light back there?" the policewoman scolded while inspecting my Massachusetts driver's license. I sat momentarily stunned, my mouth wide open. Did she say yellow light?

Baltimore City Police say they believe road rage may have been the reason behind a fatal shooting overnight in the city. Police said that at about 2:55 a.m., they responded to the 2800 block of Erdman Avenue for a report of a shooting, and found an adult black male with multiple gun shot wounds. The victim was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced at 3:17 a.m. Police did not release the victim's identity, and also had no immediate information on a suspect. However, they said they believe the incident may have been the result of road rage.

SOMEWHERE IN the Declaration of Independence there seems to be a clause about the rights of Westerners to drive their off-road vehicles wherever they durn well please. Or maybe it's in the Emancipation Proclamation. Or the Ten Commandments. Whatever. What's right is right - and no federal G-man is going to keep the Utahan off his chosen path. Come to think of it, it looks like no G-man even wants to try. There's all this land out there, and just because it's owned by all the people of the United States (the government)

Baltimore City Police say they believe road rage may have been the reason behind a fatal shooting overnight in the city. Police said that at about 2:55 a.m., they responded to the 2800 block of Erdman Avenue for a report of a shooting, and found an adult black male with multiple gun shot wounds. The victim was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced at 3:17 a.m. Police did not release the victim's identity, and also had no immediate information on a suspect. However, they said they believe the incident may have been the result of road rage.

What would you do if, while sitting behind the wheel of your car at a traffic light, you see a man with a handgun in a shoulder holster approach your vehicle, pound his fist against the driver-side window and release a profane tirade? Would you: a. Lower the window and fire back some expletives; b. Look for an emergency route through the busy intersection in front of you; c. Remain calm and ignore the man until he goes away; d. Call the cops as soon as possible? When this happened to him in Harford County last week, Francesco Grasso chose "c" and "d. " Dr. Grasso is a surgeon with a practice in Baltimore, Towson and Bel Air. He was shaken enough by this display of road rage to contact me and to submit his account as a cautionary tale for other drivers.

A 25-year-old man who shot and injured a man in a downtown parking lot — and then was promptly arrested by a nearby Baltimore City SWAT team — was charged Sunday with attempted murder. James Edward Johnson had no criminal record before he was picked up by officers about 3 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot next to the city's impound lot adjacent to I-83. Now, he faces charges of first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and handgun violations, according to police department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

An incident of road rage in Gambrills Monday led to a stabbing, a two-car crash and an arrest, police said. Ross Brandon Sudbrook, 23, of Old Riverside Drive in Baltimore, has been charged with assault and reckless endangerment as a result of the stabbing. Police found several injured people and two heavily damaged vehicles at about 4 p.m. near the intersection of Route 3 north and Churchview Road. A Ford Explorer and a PT Cruiser were in a drainage ditch. Investigators said the accident and assault stemmed from an altercation between the driver of the Explorer and a 23-year-old male passenger in the other car. Police said that the driver and passenger in the Explorer exchanged seats on at least one occasion at another intersection along Route 3 and the delay led to an exchange of words between the occupants of the two vehicles.

A 26-year-old Severn man has been charged with murder and other crimes in a killing that police believe was prompted by road rage. James William King, who has an extensive record of traffic violations and other offenses, was arrested Tuesday night at his home in the 800 block of Crest Hill Drive, according to a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County police. King was charged with first-degree murder, assault, reckless endangerment and two other counts, and was being held without bail at the Jennifer Road Detention Center.

A man who had been involved in a road-rage incident was stabbed on a street in Catonsville Friday night, Baltimore County Police said. Officers responding to a call at 8:39 p.m. found the wounded man in the unit block of Delrey Ave. in the Wilkens District. The victim told police two men involved in the dispute followed him to the location by car and that one of the men stabbed him in the chest before the pair drove off in an unknown direction. The injured man was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where he is being treated for non life-threatening injuries.

A third man is in police custody after a fight at an Owings Mills home in November that erupted after an incident of road rage, according to Baltimore County police. Esaiah Lynn Watts, 21, of the 2600 block of Camberwell Court in Windsor Mill, turned himself in to police Wednesday, after they had obtained a warrant for his arrest on three counts of second-degree assault, police said. The Nov. 23 fight left a woman and her two sons, who were targeted by the men, injured, police said.

Sorry, Dan Rodricks , but I feel no sympathy whatsoever for your so-called "victim," Francesco Grasso, who state police say was observed to be driving like a nut endangering others. Should the retired officer have gotten out of his car? No. But maybe the good doctor will start driving more cautiously and not endanger the lives of others and turning them into victims of his own carelessness and reckless driving. He is only a victim of his own actions. John Sinclair

Maryland State Police have charged a 25-year-old Frederick County man with assault, driving under the influence and reckless endangerment in connection with a road-rage incident that involved four vehicles on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway Saturday evening. Police said Cody James Hickerson was driving a Nissan Titan truck erratically in a southbound lane of the highway in Baltimore City at about 8:30 p.m. when the driver of a Subaru Outback sounded his horn. Hickerson then drove his vehicle into the passenger side of the Subaru and continued driving, police said.

What would you do if, while sitting behind the wheel of your car at a traffic light, you see a man with a handgun in a shoulder holster approach your vehicle, pound his fist against the driver-side window and release a profane tirade? Would you: a. Lower the window and fire back some expletives; b. Look for an emergency route through the busy intersection in front of you; c. Remain calm and ignore the man until he goes away; d. Call the cops as soon as possible? When this happened to him in Harford County last week, Francesco Grasso chose "c" and "d. " Dr. Grasso is a surgeon with a practice in Baltimore, Towson and Bel Air. He was shaken enough by this display of road rage to contact me and to submit his account as a cautionary tale for other drivers.

An incident of road rage in Gambrills Monday led to a stabbing, a two-car crash and an arrest, police said. Ross Brandon Sudbrook, 23, of Old Riverside Drive in Baltimore, has been charged with assault and reckless endangerment as a result of the stabbing. Police found several injured people and two heavily damaged vehicles at about 4 p.m. near the intersection of Route 3 north and Churchview Road. A Ford Explorer and a PT Cruiser were in a drainage ditch. Investigators said the accident and assault stemmed from an altercation between the driver of the Explorer and a 23-year-old male passenger in the other car. Police said that the driver and passenger in the Explorer exchanged seats on at least one occasion at another intersection along Route 3 and the delay led to an exchange of words between the occupants of the two vehicles.

A 22-year-old Randallstown man has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with a road-rage shooting that killed a 16-year-old girl and a 32-year-old man near Bolton Hill, records show. Tavon Spruell of the 3800 block of Cherrybrook Road was taken into custody Friday and ordered held without bail, according to computerized court records. Hostilities leading to the shooting began about 5:40 p.m. Feb. 27 in West Baltimore when a Ford Crown Victoria containing a man and three teens nearly collided with a Jetta that Spruell was driving, according to charging papers prepared by city homicide detective Corey Alston.

A 34-year-old Joppa man was charged Wednesday with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment after allegedly firing shots at another vehicle while driving north on Interstate 95 near the exit for Route 152. No one was injured in the incident, state troopers said. The suspect, Nicholas Heider, could face additional charges from the Harford County State's Attorney's Office, according to troopers. The other driver involved said the dispute started over a disagreement over right-of-way between the drivers near Exit 67. The two men gestured at each other and cut each other off, troopers said.