Two Northern California men die after bizarre road-rage incident on Interstate 80 in Reno

Two California men were hit by pickups and killed after a road rage attack in the middle of Interstate 80 just west of Reno last week.

The bizarre chain of events began just after 10 p.m. Thursday on the westbound lanes of the busy freeway at Gold Ranch Road in Verdi, the Nevada Highway Patrol announced Tuesday.

Nevada state troopers said a white 2015 Mercedes-Benz sedan driven by Jaime Ramirez, 37, of Woodland rear-ended a black 2004 GMC Sierra pickup driven by Truckee resident Jarred Johnson, 30.

The collision pushed the pickup into the guardrail. The Mercedes stopped in the middle of the freeway, Ramirez got out and the two drivers started fighting, troopers said.

Ramirez then got behind the wheel of Johnson’s pickup and plowed into Johnson, killing him. Ramirez then drove into oncoming traffic, troopers said.

Ramirez got out of the pickup and began attempting to carjack several vehicles before walking into oncoming traffic, troopers said.

A motorist in a pickup hit him while he was standing in the westbound lanes, troopers said.

Both men were declared dead on the highway, troopers said.