10/20/2006
Man arrested after shooting
By: Jamie Nash , Courier staff
Road rage led to gunfire, a collision and ultimately an arrest after a Houston man lost his temper in traffic on Interstate 45 in Conroe Thursday morning.
Fred Preston Curtis, 36, of Houston, was charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony punishable by a prison term of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Conroe Police Sgt. Mike Tindall said Curtis was driving his elderly mother to Dallas in his Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle. The trouble began, Tindall said, when Curtis allegedly cut off a northbound Ford Mustang and the Mustang's driver honked his horn. Curtis reportedly then slowed down and allowed the Mustang, driven by a Spring man, to pass him.
"The Escalade then went after the Mustang and got behind it on the freeway," Tindall said. "He then rolled down his driver-side window and fired one round at the Mustang from a 40 caliber semiautomatic."
A bullet struck the Mustang's left rear bumper. "The Escalade then passed the Mustang, cut in front of it and stopped in the middle of the freeway, forcing the Mustang to stop," he said.
Curtis allegedly got out of his SUV brandishing the semiautomatic pistol and pointing it at the driver of the Mustang.
"Fearing for his life, the Mustang driver put his vehicle in reverse, traveling backwards at a fast pace and striking another vehicle," Tindall said.
The Mustang then drove off the right shoulder of the freeway and onto the grass and went around the Escalade, still driving north.
Curtis returned to his vehicle and also continued north. The Mustang and the vehicle it crashed into while traveling backwards exited the freeway at FM 1097 and flagged down a Willis police officer. The driver of the third vehicle, a Conroe woman, witnessed the entire incident, Tindall said, and provided a description of Curtis, his vehicle and his license plate, which were broadcast to law enforcement in Montgomery and Walker Counties.
A short time later, a Department of Public Safety Trooper stopped Curtis on Interstate 45 north of Huntsville. He was detained and returned to Montgomery County where he was arrested and placed in the county jail.
Tindall said no drugs were found inside the Escalade, nor any other contraband than the semiautomatic pistol, which Curtis was not licensed to carry.
As of press time, Curtis's bond was not set.
Jamie Nash can be reached at jnash@hcnonline.com
The 1097 exit is the Kroger exit in Willis! It's a good thing I never take the 45 to get to Conroe! Even if I am in Willis, I take highway 75 to Conroe. I stay off the interstate, and for good reason!
1 comment:
What was that word you used? F*cktard?
A few years ago, a man spilled his coffee while commuting on an interstate in St. Louis County. He got in front the car he blamed and slammed on his brakes, causing the driver, a very young woman, to wreck. She died. I never forgot that. Such an effing waste.
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