Posted on: December 1, 2024, 01:35h.
Last updated on: December 1, 2024, 01:35h.
An Uber driver was fatally shot in the torso after a road rage incident on the Las Vegas Strip last week, authorities revealed, as prosecutors check if the shooter acted in self-defense.
The victim was identified by the Clark County coroner’s office as Michael Wilmot, 50, of Las Vegas.
The incident began last Monday afternoon, when Wilmot got into a road rage incident with a second driver. A short distance away, he exited his vehicle while his two passengers remained inside his grey Jeep Cherokee.
He went up to another vehicle that was stopped by the Palazzo at the Venetian Resort. He banged on the driver’s side window of the silver Subaru WRX.
The driver, a 24-year-old woman, pulled out a firearm and shot Wilmot, police said.
The unnamed woman fled from the scene before police arrived. Police identified her through her license plate number.
Later, she was located at her Las Vegas residence near Washington Avenue and Torrey Pines Drive.
The suspect was arrested on charges unrelated to the shooting, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
She spoke to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers about the deadly incident. They forwarded her statement and other evidence to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors will check if it was a case a self-defense because Wilmot reportedly was armed. He collapsed on the street before he could fire his gun, according to statements made to police.
He passed away at the scene. No one beside Wilmot was injured.
Increasing Road Rage
Before Monday’s shooting, both vehicles were being driven on Las Vegas Boulevard in an area where road construction is taking place.
In a press conference on Monday night, LVMPD Lt. Jason Johansson cautioned that “there’s a lot of road construction going on in the valley right now,” so drivers should be patient.
“None of this is worth your life over a road rage incident,” he added.
Tough Life for Victim
Wilmot, a former motorcycle mechanic, had been living in his vehicle for about a year since his mother died, a cousin, Tracy Brasby, told the Review-Journal.
He was abandoned as a baby by his birth mother, and was abused, too. He was left on the doorstep of a woman who became his adoptive mother. As an adult, he cared for her as she faced medical conditions, and continued to live with her, relatives told the Review-Journal.
“He was always there for her,” a relative said. “Nobody deserves this,” the relative added about the deadly shooting.
