Family Of Man Killed In Road Rage Shooting: 'Our Holidays Are Never Going To Be The Same'
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A heartbroken family trying to come to grips with the shooting death of Jason Giles.
He was killed Friday in an apparent road rage incident on the Palmetto Expressway at the NW 25th Street exit.
"Our holidays are never going to be the same," said Vanessa Giles. "Instead of planning a holiday party or trying to figure out what we're going to do for Christmas or New Years, we're planning a funeral."
According to investigators, Giles was driving a tractor trailer and was having some type of traffic dispute with Felix Valdes Jr. – who was behind the wheel of a Nissan Altima.
Giles' family said minutes before the fatal altercation he was on the phone with his grandmother.
"He kept on telling his grandmother that there was a black Nissan Altima that kept on cutting him off and brake checking him and cutting him off and brake checking him," said Vanessa Giles. "After that he said 'I have to go.' He hung up the phone and that's the last we all heard from him."
On Friday, Miami-Dade Police explained the violent end.
"We're being told that the driver of the tractor trailer was armed with a knife during the confrontation and that's when the driver of the Nissan produced a firearm and shot the victim," said Det. Alvaro Zabaleta.
What has both the family and police baffled is what happened to the gun? In an odd twist, investigators say at some point in the scuffle, the gun was lost.
"What raises a big question is where's the gun? If you're claiming self-defense, how do you lose the gun? We don't understand how the gun goes missing," said Vanessa Giles.