Police have finally identified the man behind Tuesday’s road rage that left two police patrol officers injured and hospitalized.
The suspect named Malik Johnson, 24, was on Tuesday involved in a road rage that aggravated into a full scale man hunt with tons of patrol vehicles on the chase as well as Police Air Tactical Unit, although investigations are still ongoing, the suspect was alleged to have angrily pulled a gun on the victim during the road rage incident.
According to police reports, the suspect is from the 3800 block of Blair Mill Road, Horsham, Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia police department reports that it responded to a 911 distress call of a road rage around 9pm on Thursday, according to them a highway patrol within its jurisdiction responded to a “person with a gun” report at Witte and Allegheny Avenue.
The victim, who was reportedly a male, told the police department that he was threatened by the suspect as the suspect pulled a gun on him.
After receiving the report, The Philadelphia police department said they trailed the suspect to 3100 block of Jasper Street where they did all within their available man power and resources to stop the suspect, but unfortunately the suspect refused to yield and continued on his road rage, ignoring the police officers.
The patrol police later called for more reinforcements, and a police helicopter chase ensued. With the help of the police helicopter, officers chased Johnson (the suspect) through Kensington and into Northeast Philadelphia.
The suspect who was reportedly driving a white Toyota Camry and was followed by the Philadelphia police department’s Air Tactical Unit eventually crashed into an occupied highway patrol SUV police vehicle with two male police officers inside as well as two other parked cars on the 2000 block of Fraley Street.
The two police officers inside the highway patrol SUV who were reportedly injured from the crash were immediately rushed to the Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital by the medical team that was later present at the scene of the incident. According to the Philadelphia police department on Thursday, the police officers affected by the crash have received treatment and had been released.
Police reports say that the suspect was apprehended immediately after the crash and the white Toyota Camry that he drove was toted away for further investigation.
According to a group of renowned truck accident lawyers in NYC, The Barnes Firm, road rage causes at least 25 deaths and about 1,800 injuries every year in the US and while you might think that’s horrible enough, it has been reported as a fact that 8 in 10 Americans have exhibited road rage behaviors at least once a year.
Road rage cases involving guns doubled between 2014 and 2016, reaching 620 in 2016. This has made most vehicle insurance policies list it as an exemption, leading to zero coverage for road rage-related offenses.
Although latest reports from the Philadelphia police department show that the white Toyota Camry driven by the suspect was stolen and was also involved in a kidnapping and carjacking incident in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, investigations are still ongoing. The suspect has been charged with simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, aggravated assault, fleeing police, and other related offenses.
Road Rage Facts:
· Every year in the United States, around 30 people are killed as a result of road rage-related disputes.
· According to a poll, the states of Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Minnesota had the lowest rates of road rage.
· Drivers from Denver, Portland, Oregon, and Ohio are renowned for being the slowest on the road.
· According to reports, the cities with the highest rates of road rage include New York, Detroit, Atlanta, Phoenix, Miami, Houston, Cincinnati, and San Diego.
· According to road rage statistics by gender, males are more likely to be victims of road rage.
· Young men under the age of 19 are the most prone to engage in road rage behavior.
· Nearly half of all US drivers (47 percent, or 95 million) have screamed at another road user, while 45 percent, or 91 million, have honked excessively to show their rage at one certain point in time.
· Baby boomers (the oldest drivers) are the least likely to experience road rage or be involved in a road rage-related incident.
· According to road rage statistics, the three most common causes of road anger are tailgating, cutting people off, and driving while preoccupied or distracted.
· In the United States, 136 individuals were shot as a result of road rage incidents between 2014 and 2016.
· According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, road rage-related deaths have soared by more than 500 percent in the previous decade.
· According to studies, the average road rager has done it at least 27 times.
· According to studies on young adult and teen road rage, millennials are the most likely to be involved in any road rage related incident.
· Speeding is considered as a norm by 53% of drivers in the United States.
· Every second driver who witnesses reckless driving becomes a perpetrator later on.
· Excessive speeding or racing were responsible for 9% of fatal incidents in the United States in 2017.
· According to a recent road rage poll, at least 51 percent of Americans had purposely tailgated other cars at least once in the last year.
· Nearly 80 percent of drivers in a 2019 survey have demonstrated substantial aggressiveness while driving at least once in the preceding 30 days.
· According to a 2019 poll, 26% of drivers acknowledged to change lanes very rapidly or very closely behind another vehicle.
· Drivers who had been in one or more car accidents in the preceding two years were considerably more likely to self-report aggressive driving habits in a 2019 study.
· At least once in the previous year, 80 percent of drivers in the United States were aggressive behind the wheel.
· Those who feel road rage, according to psychologists, do not view other road users as persons.
· Road rage occurs in one-third of all collisions.
