[A] 39-year-old Winooski man is in custody after he allegedly fired a shot from his moving car at another motorist on Interstate 89 between Milton and St. Albans.
State police said Jason Dion was traveling north and weaving in and out of traffic around 4 p.m. Wednesday when he passed another vehicle on the right, prompting the other driver to make a “hand gesture” in his direction.
Dion responded by firing a handgun at the other car, driven by Tristan Cameron, 22, of St. Albans, and then speeding away, police said.
Cameron, who was alone his 2004 Pontiac Grand Am, was not hurt in the incident and called 911. Troopers from the St. Albans barracks located the suspect driving a silver 2013 Dodge Dart and caught him after a short pursuit.
After Dion was taken into custody, police said he experienced a “medical event” and was taken to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans.
Dion is under investigation for driving under the influence of drugs after multiple witnesses reported seeing him drive erratically before the shot was fired at Cameron, according to police.
Adam Silverman, spokesperson for Vermont State Police, said that after recovering a “revolver-style handgun” from Dion’s vehicle, police are asking the public for help in determining whether Dion had fired his handgun before the interstate altercation.
“It appeared that there was one shot fired at the vehicle in this specific incident, but we are investigating whether that was the only shot he fired yesterday,” Silverman said, “And we are asking the public if they had any encounters with this man prior to the incident.”
Dion is facing charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude arrest, police said.
Silverman said incidents of road rage leading to gunfire are uncommon in Vermont, but it’s not unheard of for weapons to be drawn in altercations.
“It certainly is a rare event,” Silverman said. “From time to time we investigate a flashing of a handgun,” he said, “but it’s very unusual for that to escalate into gunfire at highway speeds.”
Bail was set at $50,000 for Dion, who remains at Northwestern Medical Center in the custody of the Department of Corrections, police said.
State police are asking that anyone who encountered the 2013 Dodge Dart or Dion on Wednesday afternoon contact investigators at the St. Albans barracks at 802-524-5993.
