A 51-year-old Berkeley man has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after he was injured in a horrific freeway crash that killed the driver of the car — which followed a freeway shooting in which the injured man is the only suspect.
Before the crash occurred on I-80 on Thursday morning, as the Reno Gazette-Journal reports, Nevada Highway Patrol received reports of shots fired at a pickup truck on the highway. Officers located the truck, a blue 2021 Chevrolet Silverado, riddled with bullets and its windshield shattered, and it's unclear if there were any injuries in that shooting.
Some media outlets have characterized the shooting as an act of road rage.
Subsequently, around 6:30 a.m., a black 2016 Acura speeding westbound on I-80 attempted to pass a big rig on the shoulder near the California-Nevada border. The Acura clipped the truck and the driver lost control of the car, which flipped across the median into the eastbound lanes. The car was then struck by a big rig traveling eastbound, killing the driver and injuring Laron Edward of Berkeley.
The driver of the Acura has been identified as 40-year-old Nichoel Davis of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The crash briefly shut down all eastbound lanes of I-80 Thursday morning.
As the Associated Press reports, Edwards has since been booked for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He's being held in jail in Washoe County, Nevada. The Reno Gazette-Journal says Edwards was also charged with "open murder."
The Nevada Department of Public Safety Investigations Division is investigating the shooting incident, and Nevada Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. The NHP is urging anyone with information about the crash to contact them at (775) 684-7430.
Photo via Nevada Highway Patrol