Man charged in ‘road rage’ wreck that killed truck driver

Mitchell Savard of Woonsocket was arrested Wednesday morning charged with causing a fatal car crash on 295 in Johnson last week.

Police say the 3-car pile up was the result of road rage.

The 41-year-old is facing 3 felony charges including: driving to endanger, resulting in death, driving to endanger, resulting in personal injury and driving to endanger resulting in physical injury.

"We are upset about this tragic incident, a crash that never should have occurred,” said Rhode Island State Police Captain Matthew Moynihan.

Police say the crash happened on March 30 after Savard cut–off a tow–truck who honked his horn at him.

"He then began to deliberately apply him brakes in a common driving behavior indicative of road rage,” said Moynihan

But then, police say Savard took the dramatic and ultimately deadly step of stopping in the middle lane of the busy highway.

The tow-truck was able to stop, but a box truck wasn’t able to stop in time. The box truck driver, Erik Salazar, crashed into the two other stopped cars.

The 23-year-old from Brooklyn, New York later died. His passenger remains in critical condition.

"We do run into road rage incidents frequently unfortunately,” said Moynihan.

State police tell us they respond to multiple accidents a day related to aggressive drivers. To put the seriousness of this type of driving into perspective the state police PIO points to a national study that shows 56 percent of fatal accidents are believed to have been the result of aggressive driving or road rage.

"We need to create a safe environment for all to travel on our roadway,” said Moynihan.

State police recommend not engaging with aggressive drivers. They also remind drivers to always report dangerous behavior on the roads to 911.

As for Savard, he is no stranger to the law. He has a rap sheet dating back to the mid-90’s for crimes including; driving without a license, disorderly conduct and simple assault.

The judge set bail at $10,000. Savard could face up to 17 years behind bars for the fatal crash.

© WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017