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CCSO: Pick-Up Truck Driver Had Forced Rig Driver to Stop Before I-20 Shootings

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An Augusta tractor-trailer driver shot a father and his son Monday morning who had pulled in front of him on Interstate 20 and slowed down to a stop, according to Columbia County authorities.

Theondra Trimaine Ransom, 43, was in a road rage incident with a pick-up truck driven by 52-year-old Dean Brown Jr. of Harlem, Ga., and his son, Dean Brown III, 26, of Bowman, S.C., authorities said.

It happened just before 10 a.m. Monday, west of the Dyess Parkway exit just south of Martinez. Both were upset when suddenly around mile marker 194, the pickup truck got in front of the 18-wheeler and slowed down to a stop, sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris said.

They got out and words were exchanged. Then Ransom pulled a gun and fired several rounds into the pickup truck.

“The passenger started running and he was shot in the back,” Maj. Morris said.

Both are at Doctors Hospital. The driver was shot in the arm and is in stable condition. The son is in critical condition.

Ransom has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and weapon possession.

Maj. Morris said there were other ways to resolve their dispute without a confrontation.

“It’s not the smartest thing to do to slow down to a stop in front of any vehicle,” he said. “Some people have a hard time doing this, but just move on.”

He said if a driver feels another motorist did something criminal, get a tag number and notify law enforcement.

Many residents have debated whether Ransom was allowed to carry a gun in a commercial vehicle. Maj. Morris said it isn’t against the law if the gun is legal, but any driver also has to answer to their company policy.

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Greg Rickabaugh
Greg Rickabaugh
Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle, The Augusta Press and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel.
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