Deputies reveal details on I-20 road rage shooting

MARTINEZ, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We have new details about a road rage shooting along Interstate 20 that sent two men to a hospital and a big-rig driver to jail.

According to an incident report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, tractor-trailer driver Theondra Ransom, 43, of Augusta, told deputies a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup repeatedly stopped in front of him Monday morning along eastbound I-20.

Both vehicles eventually stopped on the right shoulder.

According to the report, Ransom got out of his tractor-trailer with a handgun and shot at both people in the pickup just east of the Belair Road overpass.

The victims were Dean Brown Jr., 52, and Dean Brown III, 26. According to the report, both are from Harlem.

According to the report, Ransom first shot Brown Jr., who was the pickup driver.

The report says Ransom then moved to the passenger side, firing again and striking Brown III, the passenger.

The shooting victims both got out and tried to run across the interstate while Ransom shot at them again, according to the report.

Deputies then arrived, taking Ransom into custody and beginning medical aid to the Browns, according to the report.

After emergency medical crews arrived, the two victims were taken to Doctors Hospital in Augusta. As of Tuesday, one was stable and the other was in critical condition.

Ransom was booked into Columbia County jail, where he’s being held without bond on two counts of aggravated assault, one count of possession of firearm or knife during commission of a crime and one count of reckless conduct, according to jail records.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says truck drivers don’t even need a permit to carry their guns on their 18-wheelers because the truck is considered an extension of their home.

It’s up to the companies to make those regulations.

According to the incident report, Ransom worked for Riteway Express of Brevard, N.C.

The sheriff’s agency says the best thing to do is understand that people make mistakes on the road.

If something illegal happens or someone is hostile, back off and call law enforcement.

News 12‘s Will Rioux contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.