Road rage leads to fatal crash near Antelope — here’s what we know from Sacramento deputies

One person is dead following a two-vehicle collision near Antelope, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

The crash stemmed from a conflict between two motorists, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, which is also investigating the incident along with the California Highway Patrol.

Gandhi said detectives determined there was a shooting prior to the crash based on witness accounts from passengers. He said two firearms were also recovered at the scene and Gandhi said the drivers — a man and a woman — were known to each other. There was also a passenger in the vehicle that crashed, Gandhi said.

“There was a shooting,” he said. “No one got shot, but it sort of precipitated the whole thing.”

The drivers traveled from Sacramento County to Placer County where the conflict escalated to a collision near the intersection of Walerga and PFE roads in Antelope, Gandhi said. But deputies are still piecing together where the shooting occurred.

Placer County deputies responded to the crash site and one of the vehicle occupants was pronounced dead at the scene, said Angela Musallam, spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Gandhi said it wasn’t known if the person who died was behind the wheel.

The two other people involved were hospitalized.

A photo of the scene showed a vehicle had exited the roadway and come to rest on its side near a power pole.

Musallam said the Placer County Sheriff’s Office had no other details to release.

The Placer County Coroner will release the identity of the deceased.

This story was originally published August 22, 2023 at 10:21 AM.