Man charged with murder in road rage shooting on Interstate 80 near New Lenox, Illinois
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man has been charged with murder in a deadly road rage shooting on Interstate 80 near southwest suburban New Lenox earlier this week.
Phillip E. Rogers, 45, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of 30-year-old Lenier Clayton, according to Illinois State Police.
Clayton was driving home from work around 5:30 p.m. Monday, when he was shot in a road rage attack in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 headed towards the exit to Interstate 355 near New Lenox, police said.
Investigators said Clayton and another driver got into an argument on the interstate. When the two got out to look at the damage, the driver pulled out a gun and fired.
Clayton was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m., according to the Will County Coroner's Office.
Rogers was later identified as the gunman and arrested.
Clayton's mother said Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday, yet this week, his family will have a huge void during the holiday—as they will for years to come.
Video supplied by the Clayton family shows him dancing with a big smile—and that is how his mother, Lenora, wants to remember her only son.
"He was the life of the party," she said. "He was a jokester—very good young man."
Clayton's mother said she refuses to harbor hate in her heart against the man accused of killing her son, but she will be in court for every hearing to make sure justice is served.