Darby Man Charged With First-Degree Murder In Connection To Springfield Road Rage Shooting
SPRINGFIELD, Pa. (CBS) -- Springfield Police have arrested a Darby man in connection to a road rage shooting that left a 54-year-old man dead earlier this week. Saddiq Washington, 22, is being charged with several offenses, including first-degree murder, third-degree murder, and recklessly endangering another person for killing King Hua.
"This is a senseless, brutal act," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollesteimer said.
Hua was killed for simply driving too slowly, according to police. The murder has neighbors in Springfield on edge.
Police say the key to catching the suspect was surveillance video from an auto body shop in Drexel Hill.
Washington was brought into custody on Thursday night at his home in Darby. Police say surveillance video and tips from the community were instrumental in detectives arresting Washington less than 48 hours after the murder. Authorities say that he confessed to the crime.
Stollesteimer said Washington had a permit to carry a concealed weapon and he legally purchased the firearm.
Washington had nothing to say as officers walked him from the police department to the courthouse for his arraignment Friday morning.
Police say Hua was shot in the head, right in front of his wife, as he was driving to work on South State Road near Meetinghouse Lane during the Wednesday morning rush.
According to a criminal complaint, Hua was driving to work in a white Toyota when witnesses spotted a dark blue Chevy Equinox aggressively changing lanes and moving past other cars.
Police say Washington's mother was driving the SUV and pulled over, and then Washington shot the victim.
"He is the individual who leaned out of the vehicle and killed Mr. Hua based on the fact that he believed Mr. Hua was not driving rapidly enough on State Road," Stollsteimer said.
It's unclear if Washington's mother will face charges at this time.
Police say surveillance video from Bud's Auto Body Shop captured the license plate of Washington's SUV after it left the scene.
From there, detectives were able to track the suspect to his home in Darby and arrest him Thursday night.
"I feel happy that they got him because it was a senseless act," Bud's owner Andy Rossi said.
Hua's obituary says he immigrated from Vietnam to the United States in 1990 to give his family a better life. He leaves behind a wife and daughter.
Springfield Township Police Chief Joseph Daly credits the hard work of his detectives in securing the arrest.
"We talked to the Hua family last night, and there's nothing you can do to ease their grief," Daly said. "But hopefully they'll be able to take something out of this, that the person who savagely took their loved one's life away from them for an ungodly reason, hopefully, they'll have a little solace in knowing that this individual will face justice and will not hurt anybody else."
A viewing for the victim is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at O'Leary Funeral Home in Springfield.
CBS3's Jan Carabeo and Madeleine Wright contributed to this report.
