Driver found guilty of murder in last summer’s road rage incident

A truck driver has been found guilty just over a year after shooting another driver after a road rage altercation. 

The truck driver was convicted for the August 30th, 2023 incident this week. 49-year-old Lashawn D. Hughes was found guilty of one count of murder, once count of posessing weapons while under disability, and one count tampering with evidence. 

According to Sidney Daily News, Brandon Tyler Welsh and Hughes were both operating commercial vehicles on Interstate 75 in Sidney, Ohio when they were involved in a fender bender. Hughes did not stop for the incident, and Welsh followed him for several miles before Hughes exited at St. Mary’s Avenue and pulled into the parking lot of a business unrelated to either of the truck drivers. 

Dash cam video from one of the semi trucks shows Welsh parking behind Hughes, walking towards his cab unarmed, and the disappearing from sight. Hughes pulls away from the scene just under a minute later and drives through a large puddle of blood, leaving bloody tire tracks in the lot. 

A third driver, Jake Rager, then pulls into the lot to visit the business and notices Welsh’s truck has not moved, so he pulls forward a bit and sees Welsh’s body on the ground, prompting him to call 911. It was later determined that Welsh had been shot in the left eye, causing a fatal injury. 

Police then started searching for Hughes’ truck and eventually located it, but Hughes led them in brief circles before finally stopping. Hughes was arrested, but police did not find a gun in his truck. It was later found that Hughes had been convicted of murder prevuously in 1993. The gun was eventually located in a grassy area near where Hughes had led police in a circle. Hughes initially told poice that he had not stopped in Sidney at all and had just driven through on I-75. 

During his account of the incident in court, Hughes stated that he had not realized he had hit Welsh’s truck on the highway because he was on the phone with his dispatcher explaining that he would be late to his delivery because he was lost. He said he pulled into the business lot because he was lost and because he needed to use the bathroom. 

Hughes said that he was relieving himself inside of his truck cab when Welsh came banging on his cab door and appeared upset. He told Hughes that he had hit his truck, so Hughes aid he would grab his paperwork if Welsh grabbed his. Hughes says that Welsh then opend his cab door and grabbed him and tried to pull him out of his cab while screaming obscenities at him. Hughes said his shoulder then hit the steering wheel and he was worried he would hit his head if Welsh pulled him further, so he grabbed his gun out of the door and shot Welsh. 

Hughes says he panicked after the shooting and left the scene. He said he was on the phone with his wife trying to figure out what to do when the police caught up to him, which is why he did not see their lights or hear their sirens. He says he threw the gun out of the cab because he was afraid, and he thought the restriction preventing him from owning the gun had been taken care of by a previous attorney. 

The jury deliberated for an hour before delivering the guilty verdict. A sentencing hearing has been set for October 25th.