It happened at around 8:30pm Tuesday, as Jaime Ceballos-Garcia, 32, and two other people were heading home from work in a Chevy Cruze, traveling eastbound on I-10 near Silber Road. They say they saw another vehicle, a gray Chevy Malibu, driving erratically. They got closer to see the car's license plate and that's when things got violent.
Ceballos-Garcia, who was driving the Cruze, called 911 to report the other driver's reckless behavior and shortly after that, the driver of the Malibu pulled out a gun and started shooting.
"A few minutes later a passenger from the same 911 caller's vehicle calls in to say that the reckless driver, the same description that was originally given, has now shot the driver of the 911 caller's vehicle," said Detective Nathan Rosenblatt with the Houston Police Department.
"I don't know the guy. I don't see nobody," said Fabian del Angel, a passenger in the Cruze. "But we were driving and the guy is just following us. He tried to crash the car. He passed us like two or three times and when we got out, he got shot."
Del Angel grabbed the steering wheel after the shooting and guided the car off the roadway. He says no one in the car knew the shooter.
Ceballos-Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say he had a gunshot wound to his head.
Road rage is nothing new to Houston. People have been killed before by tempers flaring over the smallest of perceived slights. A gun fired into a moving car is more uncommon, but it's a warning to drivers everywhere to report a dangerous driver. Call 9-1-1, but try to stay at a safe distance.
"If you find the vehicle appears to be pursuing you, or following you, then to turn your emergency hazards on and try to exit to get to a populated area -- whether it's a police station or fire station -- just a populated area where there are more people around," said Chief Ted Heap with the Harris County Pct. 5 Constable's Office.
Officers are still looking for the gunman in Tuesday's deadly shooting.
Unrelated to the shooting, a car slammed into a police cruiser, which was blocking the exit ramp. The cruiser was heavily damaged, but the officer was not injured.
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