A freeway shooting in Lathrop involving a big rig on Thursday afternoon led to the closure of northbound I-5 and the connector onramp from the westbound Highway 120 Bypass – snarling traffic for hours and creating backups that stretched miles.
It also claimed the life of the tractor-trailer operator.
It was the third fatal shooting in the last 10 days in Manteca-Lathrop — an exceptionally unusual occurrence.
Two East Union High graduates were previously fatally shot in two unrelated incidents.
One was a 23-year-old woman in the Manteca Marketplace parking lot on Sunday.
The other was a 21-year-old man on Mono Street in South Manteca on June 5.
According to authorities, the Lathrop shooting occurred just before 1 p.m. Thursday when a driver hauling an Amazon trailer that was traveling northbound on I-5 between the Highway 120 Bypass and Louise Avenue was shot at by someone in another vehicle.
The truck then veered off the freeway, crashed down the embankment and into two other vehicles, and then slammed into the side of a building.
According to official sources, the driver ultimately died from their injuries.
While police did not initially say whether the driver had been struck by gunfire, pictures taken by the media onsite show blood on the window frame of the truck.
The truck had come to rest after pushing another vehicle into the front of a business park building near the intersection of S. Harlan Road and D’Arcy Parkway that also houses New Life Church.
Media reports indicated that the driver of the truck was a 32-year-old male from North Carolina.
Police have not yet released any information about the suspect vehicle that was involved in the shooting, or what may have led up to the incident.
The California Highway Patrol is heading the investigation into the incident.
Traffic Thursday afternoon as a result was snarled in every direction – backing up the Southbound I-5 lanes to French Camp, the northbound I-5 lanes beyond the I-205 junction and back onto I-205, and the westbound lanes of the Highway 120 Bypass beyond Airport Way.
The shooting occurred in almost the same place as the incident last November that claimed the life of 41-year-old Lathrop resident Carlos Ortiz Jr. – who was driving a 3-year-old child in the car at the time of the shooting.
The California Highway Patrol is currently asking anybody that may have been driving on I-5 north between the Highway 120 Bypass and Louise Ave. between 12:30 and 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 15 that had a dash cam running to contact the CHP Valley Division Investigative Services Unit at 916.731.6580. Anybody with video footage or information can also Officer Jones at the CHP-Stockton office at 209.938.4800.
To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com
