A Tennessee man who used an assault rifle to shoot and critically wounded a trucker in a road rage incident was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Edwin Ray, a driver for FedEx, was behind the wheel in Memphis, Tennessee when he says a minivan aggressively pulled up next to him and made rude hand gestures. The man driving the minivan, Keith Austin, then pulled up ahead.
Shortly after, the two drivers were next to each other at a stop sign. According to a witness, Austin got out of his minivan with a high powered assault rifle.
Just as he started to pull away, Ray heard a loud bang and then noticed that he had been shot. Austin had fired a shot at the driver’s side door of the truck and the bullet went right through.
Ray was shot in the leg and transported to an area hospital in critical condition. He went on to make a full recovery.
The witness who saw the shooting take place wrote down the license plate number of Austin’s van and police were able to track him down. Austin had a long criminal record with a total of 42 charges including assault and drug charges.
Adding to that list, Austin was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and the employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Source: fox, wmcationnews, wmcactionnews, wmcactionnews
42 charges and he’s willing to kill someone over his little hissy fit. Maybe its a good time to throw away the key.
Yes, but i’d go further an call it attempted murder an give him life without parole .
He was charged with attempted murder.
Tennessee has the 3 Strike Law… I’m surprised he was still out walking around. I guess he didn’t get convicted for those 42 charges.
Road rage is no joke and not just for 4wheelers.
The other day I had been following another truck, not even close enough to make the collision radar upset, on surface streets. As we’re nearing my turn he puts on his hazard lights, slows then stops blocking the turn lane I need. Thinking he’s broke down I go around to the left. The driver is hanging bodily out the window up to his waist yelling and giving me the bird.
I start to turn in front of him, because he blocking the turn lane, and in a flash of brilliance he stomped on the fuel and tries to ram me broadside. I drive a gas tanker…
The next time that guy has a bad day and wants to commit vehicular suicide leave me out of it.
Glad you are still here. Some people should never be allowed in a truck. Too many bad drivers on the road these days. Saw a driver pass a four wheeler and swing his trailer at her. She drove into the ditch and got stuck. She was shaking pretty badly. When she got out, you could see that she was very tiny and very old. She was slowing down to make a turn. Had her signal on, too. Got her out and called her daughter, who she was going to see. She had just become a fifth generation family matriarch and was going to see her brand new great-great grandbaby. Her family came and got her, one driving her car and giving her time to settle down.
Cops had the driver over off the road in cuffs when we got done. He’d done the same to a white wrapper. There were lights and uniforms everywhere.
Come on , guys. Unless it was a military assault rifle (M16 or full-auto AK-47 or the like), the guy didn’t use an assault rifle.
Assault rifles are a select-fire weapon, meaning you can select between full-automatic (one trigger pull, weapon keeps firing until it’s out of ammo or the trigger is released) or semi-automatic (one trigger pull, one shot). Many American versions also have a 3-round burst selection.
To own a full-auto capable weapon, you must submit to an exhaustive background check, pay a hefty annual fee, have a gun safe, and allow random inspections from federal and state authorities. For this guy with a lengthy criminal history, there’s no way he could get one.
Likely, he used something like an AR-15, a semi-automatic sporting/hunting rifle. Using the term “assault rifle” is a left-wing anti-gun media scare tactic.
That’s a cool story dude. Totally besides the point too. Here’s your tinfoil hat that you lost on the way here.
If I were that driver I will be suing somebody for some serious restitution my leg wouldn’t be the same and neither would I 26 years isn’t enough as far as I’m concerned.
Good for him,that’s enough time to think about his stupidity…..don’t drop the soap boy?
He probably did not have lawful possession of the firearm either.
A background check would not have done any good, since he no doubt got the firearm illegally.
He had a long list of a criminal history and yet still able to obtain an assault rifle…… he should have been locked away for good a long time ago but he out here still getting himself in trouble. He should be in prison for life, not 26 years!!
A loser like this – and there’s thousands of them out there – should be hung up w/ piano wire at high noon in the town square. Save the taxpayers money paying for this loser for the next 26 yrs. He doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air.
How come he still running around the conner with gun while he been charged with 42 count? In California as long as you convicted with felony you done for that.
To be fair, the very, very vast majority of FedEx steering agents are mortal threats to everyone in their vicinity, and the more trailers they’re yanking the greater is the negligence of their manners of operation.
I can count on one hand with 3 fingers to spare the number of FedEx trucks I’ve witnessed not speeding and following WAY too closely if the short between the seat and steering wheel were in a Ferrari.
Yeah Mixed feelings on this one too. Fed Ex driver probably had it coming. They Nascar up and down roads and highways with no regard for safety or rules of the road. So I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe that this driver didn’t do anything to anger the idiot. Secondly, a mini-van??? Those are for soccer moms so he should have gotten 26 years for that alone.
Twenty six years? I’m sorry but the SOB needs to die. I don’t know what transpired prior to the event ,but anyone willing to do harm to someone who hasn’t done anything to them. I’m sorry ,but the prisons are full of people serving longer terms who didn’t do anything or have been guilty of being to poor to afford the shyster lawyers or toss some weight around against corrupt law enforcement.
Knowing fed ex drivers he probley deserved it. Fed ex and ups love to ride people’s ass tailgate and cut people off to bad he should have gotten a medal
Doesn’t say anything about the incident as to why the road rage occurred. Maybe the driver himself was cut off by a four wheeler and had to step on the brakes to avoid hitting them. We’ve all seen that happen. The guy in the mini van wouldn’t be able to see that. Maybe the guy in the mini van wasn’t paying attention and nearly hit the truck. Maybe his woman ran off with a FedEx driver. Maybe he was texting. Who knows? But shooting someone is wrong. Driver or not.
This is the danger with gesturing or even making eye contact with a road rager. You never know who is in the other vehicle. Could be anyone from a stressed-out bank teller to a career criminal like the one in this story. The Fed-Ex driver is very fortunate it didn’t end much worse.
Haha…first define high powered. Too bad he wasn’t able to defend himself from this thug. Shame on these 2A hating companies for striping us of the ability to defend ourselves. But at least the freight was delivered.
If any of those previous convictions were felonies, and I’m betting there were a few, I hope the prosecutor added the federal firearm laws that were violated during this incident.
I don’t remember anyone saying it was a “legal” possession. So ur theory of how he could have had one is right there with Santa Claus & the Easter bunny. For the right amount of $$$, anyone can get just about anything they desire
That Fed Ex driver had that bullet coming. They are the rudest a- holes on the road today. Try and call safety at FedEx to report a driver. You can’t because safety doesn’t exist.
LOL, everybody with slow poke trucks they pass say that.
He had that bullet coming huh?
Well we can only guess right at what you call yourself.
Wow love all the haters FedEx is a great company I had 15 years with them and have 23 ttl on the road no wrecks tickets and or accidents multiple safety awards so just stop with the I wasn’t good enough for them hate. And as a gun carrying person myself I hear nothing to make me think that the FedEx driver DESERVED to get shot.
No. He didn’t deserve to be shot, but FedEx does suck. I have 25 years on the road. I was offered a job (so I was qualified), with them, and I turned it down.