AUSTIN, Texas — Road rage is happening more and more across the Austin area, leading to collisions, roadside confrontations, and shootings.
A recent study shows Texas leads the nation in road rage shootings. Austin ranks among the top 25 cities for road rage incidents involving guns, according to an analysis from nonprofit newsroom, The Trace, using information from the Gun Violence Archive.
KVUE examined local police data and found the overall number of road rage incidents has grown since 2019. We also spoke with impacted families grieving road rage victims behind the statistics.
JR Lopez’s entire home is a shrine honoring his daughter, Miranda Lopez.
“This is her last picture taken that night,” JR Lopez said as he showed the last photograph taken of his daughter.
His daily routine starts in her room, kissing the clothes she last wore the night of her death nearly four years ago.
“I love you,” JR Lopez said with tears running down his face. ” I miss her so much.”
Miranda was a victim of road rage on Dec. 26, 2020, the day after Christmas. Police records show she was riding home with her sister when they honked at someone driving erratically. That driver pulled behind their car and fired several gunshots killing 21-year-old Miranda Lopez.
“I have so much hatred and anger just for what was done to my family. My daughter taken for no reason for, for literally no reason,” said JR Lopez. “She was so kind, she was so into her family.”
Miranda worked at H-E-B and attended Austin Community College, with the goal of transferring to Texas State University to study criminal justice.
“She was always focused on school,” JR Lopez said. “She excelled in school.”
A month earlier, on Nov. 25, 2020, the day before Thanksgiving, another young life was taken due to road rage.
Police records show 20-year-old Omar Munguia pulled out in front of someone on Oltorf Street. That driver followed Munguia and fired shots, hitting him and his passenger, and causing a rollover crash on Riverside Drive.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Ana De La Barreda, one of Omar’s older sisters. “It wasn’t necessary, it was reckless and unfortunately, it can happen to anyone,” she continued. “When my brother died, a part of me died with him and that part of my life was forever changed.”
At the time, Munguia had just moved to Del Valle to live with his fiancée and their baby.
“He was caring. He loved his family,” said De La Barreda. “He had a son. His son was only five months old when this happened. So he was really excited to become a father.”
In January 2021, Austin police discovered both cases had the same suspects: Jonathan Zavala and Manuel Huerta. Both were suspects in nearly a dozen other road rage incidents according to a police investigation.
“I don’t know that there can be enough justice for someone that has no remorse,” said De La Barreda.
Zavala and Huerta agreed to plead guilty to murder. Zavala was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Huerta 35 years.
“He could have gotten a life sentence and that still wouldn’t have brought my brother back,” said De La Barreda.
“That’s not punishment,” JR Lopez said. “My family has to deal with this, for the rest of our lives.”
Police confirmed there have been eight road rage deaths in Austin since 2019. Data from police obtained by KVUE shows more than 650 total road rage incidents over the last five years.
The data shows 62 incidents in 2020, 161 in 2021, 182 in 2022, and 132 in 2023. So far in 2024, there have been 118.
“As you see Austin grow, you see more of these incidents happen,” said Austin police Detective Randy De Luna.
But those are just the incidents police know about. That’s because, road rage, by itself, isn’t a crime until it escalates to brandishing a weapon, assault, or homicide. But DeLuna said it should always be reported.
“Sometimes you have people that are victims that don’t wanna call and report it, but it is hard to document,” said De Luna. “If you feel like you are the target of an aggressive driver, contact 911.”
De Luna said the best way to avoid becoming a victim is not to engage and stay away from that angry driver. Call 911 and stay on the line with the dispatcher while you find a public space to park, then giving as much information about the other driver and vehicle as you can.
“Don’t tailgate, don’t speed, don’t weave in traffic and no erratic breaking things like that,” said De Luna. “If you do find yourself next to an aggressive driver, the thing that I would recommend is slow down, let them pass, and stay clear from that person.”
Something JR Lopez wishes his daughters could have done.
“I feel hopeless,” said JR. Lopez. ” I feel like I’m never gonna get better. I feel like I’m never gonna be the same. I’m not the same.”
Now he can only try to keep Miranda Lopez’s memory alive.
Why is road rage hard to track?
According to Austin police, road rage by itself is not a punishable crime. By name, “road rage” is not a type of crime recognized by the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
Austin police said road rage incidents are tracked when:
- A traffic incident leads to some form of aggravated assault immediately afterward
- A driver or passenger of a vehicle displays or points a firearm in a threatening manner toward another person(s) in a vehicle
- A driver or passenger of a vehicle discharges a firearm towards another person(s) in a vehicle
The spokesperson said often police will try and add the road rage general offense code but because it carries little prosecutorial weight, adding and tracking these codes is simply for informational purposes.
Police also said their main focus is addressing crime and ensuring the safety of the community and consistently capturing data that is more for informational purposes is not a priority.
As a result, APD focuses efforts specifically on crimes such as aggravated assault and homicide and not on the added context of potential road rage.