The man who was shot dead while driving over the Washington Bridge was racing home after getting an upsetting phone call, law-enforcement sources revealed Thursday.
The 41-year-old had been driving erratically in his 2014 Chevrolet pick-up truck in the moments before a bullet punched a hole through the front passenger-side window and hit him in the right torso late Wednesday, the sources said.
The vehicle then careened into some sand barrels on the Bronx side of the bridge. Cops soon arrived and transported the man – whose name is being withheld pending family notification – to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the sources said.
Surveillance video later showed that a dark colored sedan drove up from behind the victim’s truck and then pulled up alongside. And though five .380 caliber shell casings were found near where the car drove up, cops can’t yet say if the bullets came from the vehicle, according to the sources.
A witness told police the victim had been in Washington Heights hanging out with friends in the hours before the shooting and was at one point overheard talking to someone on the phone and becoming upset, sources said.
The 41-year-old had been driving erratically in the moments before a bullet punched a hole through the front passenger-side window. Seth Gottfried
The driver was shot in the right torso. Seth Gottfried
A witness told police the victim had been in Washington Heights hanging out with friends in the hours before the shooting. Seth Gottfried
The witness said they overheard the victim talking to someone on the phone and becoming upset. Seth GottfriedThe victim told his pals he was headed home and then sped away from the location.
A friend, who told cops he followed him, saw him blowing through red lights and speeding towards the bridge, which connects Manhattan and the Bronx.
The victim’s buddy caught up to him on the bridge and told police he saw smoke ahead of him and realized the victim had crashed his car, leading him to run up to the vehicle and break the rear passenger window to get him out the truck.
Surveillance video showed that a dark colored sedan drove up from behind the victim’s truck and then pulled up alongside it. Seth Gottfried
Five .380 caliber shell casings were found near where the car drove up to the victim’s truck. Seth Gottfried
The driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. Seth GottfriedAt that point, the victim was still conscious but was gasping for air and having trouble breathing, the friend told police. He claimed to police he didn’t see anyone shoot the truck or hear any gunshots while following behind him.
Investigators are working to determine what led up to the shooting and whether the victim was targeted or if it was a road rage incident that turned deadly.
No arrests have been made in connection with the death.
