Man kills self after chasing, shooting at ex-wife

A 48-year-old driver shot and killed himself in his pickup at a busy Miami-Dade intersection on Tuesday after first firing into a truck driven by his ex-wife, forcing her off the road.

The unidentified man sped after his former wife who was driving her own pickup east on Southwest 136th Street at 4:40 p.m., when they both appeared to slow down for a light on Southwest 137th Street, according to reports.

The man then jumped out of his gray pickup and began firing into her red truck, prompting her to speed forward, striking six other vehicles before her truck jumped the curb and smashed into a cement pole, police said.

With other stunned motorists watching, the man then climbed back into his truck and turned the gun on himself, said Det. Alvaro Zabaleta, Miami-Dade police spokesman.

The gunman died before Miami-Dade rescue workers arrived, Zabaleta said. His former wife, who was also unidentified, was not seriously hurt, though her truck was struck by several bullets. “She pin-balled through six other cars,” Zabaleta said. “This could have been a much more tragic scene.”

Police are still investigating the crash and shooting.

“We don’t know at this point what happened,” the detective said. “She could have been fleeing him from a previous altercation.”

Zabaleta said the woman was treated and released at the scene.

This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Man kills self after chasing, shooting at ex-wife."