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Victim describes Castro Valley road rage shooting
A 70-year-old man was shot at while driving in Castro Valley on Monday in an apparent bout of road rage.
CHERRYLAND, Calif. - A 70-year-old man was shot at while driving with his dog in his pickup truck during a rolling road-rage incident in Castro Valley on Monday that ended near a California Highway Patrol office.
"Just as I’m making the turn for the highway patrol [office], I heard, ‘pop, pop,'" the man, who did not want to be identified, told KTVU the following day.
"I knew where to go. I went to the highway patrol’s office," he said.
CHP Officer Jennifer Pabst said, "Fearing for his safety, he drove to our office here on Redwood here, the CHP office. It’s a known location."
The man was not hit by the gunfire. Neither was his blue-nosed Pitbull. But his Ford Ranger pickup truck was hit by two bullets.
"With all this shooting, kids getting killed and stuff like that, it’s terrible. It’s not cool. I’m old-fashioned. I’d rather, you know, duke it out," he said. "You wanna stop, duke it out? No problem. But shooting? That’s cowardly."
It all began at about 12:30 p.m. Monday under the I-580 overpass near Foothill and Castro Valley boulevards in the Cherryland neighborhood near Hayward.
The man says he got into a confrontation with the driver of a white or light-colored sedan.
"He got upset because evidently I cut him off," he said.
Then, like a cat-and-mouse game, the two began jockeying with each other as they headed east on Castro Valley Boulevard.
"It’s one thing to follow someone really close. It’s another thing to try to get on the side of me and threaten me," he said.
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He says he couldn’t believe it when someone in the other car opened fire near the CHP office.
"I knew it wasn’t firecrackers because it was too fast. I got out of the truck and I saw two bullet holes," he explained.
The shooting is under investigation by the Alameda County sheriff’s office.
"Whether it was someone didn’t let you get in front of them, or they’re driving too slow or they’re driving too fast, or arguing about anything, there’s nothing that should escalate into a shooting," said sheriff's Lt. Tya Modeste.
The victim had this message for the shooter: "It cracks me up when you say ‘Turn yourself in,' but do it. You know? I’ll be funny. Do it. Turn yourself in."
He added, "All he had to do was give me the finger and move on."
Anyone with information or surveillance video is asked to contact the Alameda County sheriff's office at (510) 667-7721.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan.