30-year-old driver shot to death during road rage fight at stoplight, Florida cops say
A man is accused of shooting another driver to death when a fight on the road escalated, Florida police said.
A driver called police on Jan. 22 to report a white car blocking a lane of the road in front of another vehicle, the Orlando Police Department said in an arrest affidavit.
The driver of the white car, a man, was yelling at the driver of the other car, the caller told police, and then they heard gunshots.
Another witness called police and said he heard a gunshot and later saw the white car crashed into the sidewalk, according to the affidavit.
The caller said the driver needed medical attention and waited with him until officers arrived, police said.
The driver, identified as 30-year-old David Alexzander Sligh, was unconscious and bleeding from his head, police said.
As officers and deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office began CPR, a green Hyundai pulled into the parking lot near where the white car had crashed, according to the affidavit.
A man stepped out, and when a witness asked if he saw the shooting, he told the witness “he was the one who shot him,” police said.
The man was identified as 26-year-old Nicholas Carrasquillo, and he was taken into custody, police said.
Sligh was taken to the hospital, where he died, police said.
Attorney information for Carrasquillo wasn’t listed in court records.
During an interview, Carrasquillo said Sligh had crossed lanes of traffic and then cut him off on the road, according to the affidavit.
He said he honked his horn and flashed his lights at Sligh, but Sligh didn’t move and continued to block the road, police said.
Carrasquillo said Sligh put his window down and started yelling at him, but Carrasquillo’s driver’s side window didn’t roll down, so he opened his door instead, police said.
Carrasquillo told police the two started arguing, and when the light turned green, Sligh continued to block the lanes and didn’t move forward, according to the affidavit.
Carrasquillo took out his gun and with one foot on the brake and one foot on the pavement, he pointed the gun at Sligh and told him to “get out of the road and drive,” according to the affidavit.
When Sligh didn’t move, Carrasquillo fired a round at the ground near Sligh’s car, he told police, then fired toward Sligh.
He said “his intent was to ‘maim’ the driver because he wasn’t moving,” according to police.
Officers say six shots were heard in total on video surveillance footage.
“Carrasquilllo felt trapped, so that is why he grabbed his gun and ultimately shot him,” police said in the affidavit. “He acknowledged he could have driven around him but feared he would be followed. When asked if this would have happened if he never flashed his bright lights and honked his horn, he stated the white vehicle probably would’ve driven off.”
Carrasquillo was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder with a firearm, according to court records.
This story was originally published January 23, 2024 at 3:29 PM with the headline "30-year-old driver shot to death during road rage fight at stoplight, Florida cops say."
