Suspect Charged in 'Savage' Road Rage Killing of Teenager

David Desper is facing murder charges
By Gina Carey,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 2, 2017 3:53 PM CDT
Suspect Charged in 'Savage' Road Rage Killing of Teenager
David Desper.   (WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT)

A suspect has been arrested for the murder of a teenager who was shot in the head during a horrifying road rage incident Wednesday. ABC 6 reports that 28-year-old David Desper of Pennsylvania surrendered around 2am Sunday and has been charged with first- and third-degree murder, among other crimes. Desper is believed to be the driver of a red truck that highway cameras recorded driving alongside 18-year-old Bianca Roberson. "As Bianca was merging from two lanes to one, there was a man in a red pickup truck also merging down,” District Attorney Tom Hogan said during a press conference. “They jockeyed for position and he wasn't happy,"

The driver was recorded pulling out a gun and shooting Roberson in the head in what Hogan calls "a savage and senseless murder.” Roberson was killed immediately while her vehicle veered off the road and struck a tree. According to the New York Daily News, Desper’s dented red truck has been recovered, while a 40-caliber handgun believed to be the murder weapon was found in Desper's bedroom. Authorities declined to comment on Desper’s previous criminal record during a press conference, but do not believe the incident to be a “race crime or a hate crime.” Roberson recently graduated from high school and was planning to attend Jacksonville University in Florida in the fall, where her brother says she was “headed for greatness.” (More road rage stories.)

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