Metro-east man charged with attempted murder after road rage incident, police say
%20(1)%20(1)%20(1).jpg "Charges have been filed against a metro-east man in connection with a road rage shooting on Interstate 57.")
A metro-east man has been charged with attempted murder in connection with a road rage shooting on Interstate 57 in Champaign County, Illinois State Police said.
LeJoshua Cortez Smith, 40, also was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and multiple traffic citations, according to an Illinois State Police news release. Police listed Smith’s hometown as East St. Louis while Champaign County Jail records listed his address as Cahokia Heights.
A Champaign County judge Monday ordered that Smith be detained before his trial, court records show. A attorney for Smith could not be reached for comment Monday.
The shooting occurred Thursday in the area of northbound I-57 near milepost 223.
After a minor crash occurred between Smith’s vehicle and another vehicle, a “road rage situation” developed in which shots were fired at a victim’s vehicle, police said.
The victim was not injured in the shooting.
Police spotted “Smith’s vehicle within minutes and attempted a traffic stop, but Smith fled,” the news release stated. “Officers engaged him in a pursuit, continuing northbound on I-57 through Ford County, and into Iroquois County.”
State police officers used “stop sticks” and Smith’s vehicle stopped on I-57 near milepost 285, where he was arrested about 62 miles from where the shooting occurred.
