Driver recalls road rage shooting in Colorado's Douglas County: "Did he just shoot at us?"
In Douglas County, two road rage incidents involving a weapon occurred in one day, raising concerns about a potential rise in road rage. So far this year, Douglas County dispatch has received 146 calls regarding road rage, compared to 92 at the same time last year.
One of the calls came from a woman who was shot at near the intersection of Hilltop Road and Alpine Drive on Sunday morning. She shared her story with CBS Colorado but requested that her face and name be concealed due to fear of retaliation from the alleged road rage shooter.
"Did he just shoot at us?" the woman recalled.
It only took an instant for her easy Sunday morning drive to turn into a nightmare.
"Just before the stop sign I was being tailgated," the woman said.
She was driving westbound on Singing Hills Road in Parker at around 11:30 a.m., with a friend in the passenger's seat, when she noticed a Honda CR-V behind her driving aggressively.
"He's getting closer and closer, and I put my hand up like, 'Hey, back off.' He reached over to his seat, and I jokingly said, 'Is he grabbing a gun?' Then he put his hand out the window, and I heard a pop," the woman said.
Shocked and terrified, she continued driving, hoping the other driver would back down.
"He ended up catching up, speeding up, getting right up behind me, shooting again, and then I realized that he was holding a pistol, so I pulled over. When he was next to me, he shot three more times, and then ended up in front of me, tailgating the person down the road," the woman said.
Luckily, the woman and her car weren't hit.
"I don't think he was trying to hit me; I think he was trying to be intimidating," the woman said.
But she was shaken up by the unprovoked show of violence and frightened by how close the driver came to injuring her or someone else on the road.
"Who is this? Why is he doing this? The Trump shooting was the day before; is this in relation to that?" the woman said.
She quickly called 911 and was able to give a partial license plate number and description of the driver.
Lone Tree Police soon spotted the vehicle and arrested the driver, 29-year-old Jonathan Wullstein, on charges of felony menacing, prohibited use of a weapon, and reckless endangerment.
But just hours later, on I-25 at Wolfensberger Road, another road rage 911 call came in.
"The victim appears to have accidentally cut the other driver off. The other driver pulled a firearm out and then proceeded to point the firearm at the victim," said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly.
No shots were fired in that incident, but the driver, 39-year-old Anthony Archer, was arrested on charges of felony menacing, prohibited use of a weapon, driving under the influence, and disorderly conduct.
"It's ridiculous; you know some people can't control their emotions, can't control their temper. Irresponsible use of a firearm," said Weekly.
Weekly said two violent road rage incidents in one day is concerning.
"We've all been there; you know, you get upset if somebody cuts you off in traffic. Just calm down, it's just not worth it, and certainly it's not worth doing something that's going to land you in jail," said Weekly.
If you encounter an aggressive driver, Weekly says to stay calm, do not escalate, and call 911.
As for the woman, she's grateful she wasn't hurt but says this incident will always be in the back of her mind while on the road.
"If anybody's driving recklessly around me, I'm not going to put my hands up. You never know, you never know," the woman said.
Tuesday morning, another road rage incident occurred, starting in Arapahoe County at I-25 and Dry Creek and ending in Douglas County. The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office says that involved a car tailgating another, then following them and threatening the other driver with a wrench. The victim declined to press charges in that case.
