PROVO, Utah – A Salt Lake City man is facing multiple felony charges after he reportedly fired a gun at another driver on Interstate 15 in Lehi.
Jesse David Luker, 31, was charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of attempted murder, a second-degree felony; and three counts of felony discharged of a firearm, a third-degree felony.
According to a probable cause statement, on Jan. 25, Luker was driving his black pickup truck southbound on I-15 between mileposts 285 and 279 when there was a “road rage incident” between him and the driver of a white pickup truck.
Luker was tailgating the white truck in the HOV lane, according to charging documents, and the driver of the white truck was “brake checking” Luker — hitting the brakes in an attempt to make Luker back off.
According to police, the two drivers “changed positions several times trying to get in front of and to the side of each other, and the two drivers — as well as the passengers in the white truck — were “yelling and making gestures at each other.” The two drivers swerved at each other, “causing them to leave their lanes of travel,” and the white truck struck another vehicle that was not involved in the dispute.
“At one point,” police wrote, “the victim stopped his vehicle in the HOV lane and continued yelling and making gestures.”
When the two drivers continued southbound, the victim moved to the right and was followed by Luker, according to police. At that point, Luker pulled out a handgun and fired four or five shots at the white truck. The victim drove onto the right shoulder, and Luker “continued to move closer” and fired five more shots at the white truck.
The victim turned into Luker’s truck, causing it to spin out of control and strike a barrier next to the highway. The driver of the white car then drove to American Fork Hospital — he had been seriously wounded and had to undergo surgery; one of his passengers was slightly wounded.
Luker was booked into the Utah County jail, where he’s being held without bail.
