An East St. Louis man has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm in the aftermath of a ‘road rage’ shooting on I-57 south of Champaign on Thursday.
LeJoshua Smith reportedly passed a semi and then slowed down, causing the truck to hit his rear bumper. Illinois State Police say Smith told them he became angry and fired a gun eight times towards the semi before speeding off. The shot hit the driver’s side of the cab in the area the driver sat.
When State Police attempted to stop him about 20 minutes later, still on I-57, he allegedly took off reaching speeds of up to 124 miles per hour. Smith reportedly weaved between vehicles, drove on the shoulder, and went through a construction zone. He was eventually stopped by using stop sticks further north in Iroquois County.
There was a female and two passengers in the Smith vehicle. The female reportedly tried to get Smith to stop and was not charged.
