Authorities call on drivers to do their part to end road violence

Jul 19, 20210

Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune count

A fatal shooting on a west metro highway is challenging officials trying to find ways to rein in a surge in risk-taking and reckless behavior behind the wheel.

Driver behavior in Minnesota has become so bad that Mike Hanson said he is running out of adjectives to describe it.

"Horrific. Tragic. Sad," said Hanson, director of the Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety.

The recent fatal shooting of youth baseball coach Jay Boughton as he drove on a west metro highway was all of those things, and it should be unnerving for any motorist, he said. Police said the shooting may have stemmed from a "traffic altercation." That's frightening for Hanson, whose career in law enforcement and traffic safety spans more than 35 years.

https://www.startribune.com/authorities-call-on-drivers-to-do-their-part-to-end-road-violence/600079239/