FORT WORTH, Texas _ A slight while driving and a flung glass bottle that shattered glass and was mistaken as gunfire led to an August killing on a Garland street.
Police on Wednesday released an account of a man who fired a gun toward a sport utility vehicle, killing its driver.
The motorist, whose name police declined to release, said he saw a Cadillac Escalade driving erratically and closely following his pickup truck.
The man and a passenger told police that as the Escalade pulled alongside their vehicle, they heard a loud pop and the rear window shatter. They said they believed the driver of the Escalade was shooting at them.
"The driver of the pickup indicated he was in fear for his life and fired back at the Escalade," Garland police wrote in a statement.
Francisco Pasillas, its driver, was shot and died at a hospital.
Pasillas was mad after he was cut off by the pickup's driver and threw a glass bottle at it, Pasillas' wife, who was a passenger in the SUV, told police.
A grand jury in Dallas County will review evidence in the case and decide whether to indict the pickup truck's driver.
"This shooting is a tragic example of senseless road rage, impacting the lives of numerous people in multiple families," police wrote in the statement.
Police said they would not release the name of the shooter unless a grand jury indicts him.
Pasillas, 33, was driving west on Centerville Road with his wife in the afternoon on Aug. 22 when the dispute erupted with the occupants of the Chevrolet pickup that was driving in the same direction, police said.
Detectives recovered video from a business showing the Escalade catching up to the pickup as the vehicles approached Northwest Highway. As Pasillas pulled along the passenger side of the pickup, Pasillas appears to throw an object at the pickup, police said.
After he fired on the SUV, the man behind the pickup's wheel drove to the Rowlett police station to report the incident. He "has been cooperative throughout the investigation," police said.
