WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deadly confrontation between two drivers on Saturday.
The sheriff's office said a man was shot around 9:33 p.m. after two drivers got into a confrontation on Lake Ned Road.
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The man suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to Winter Haven Hospital. He died from his injuries shortly after.
At this time, there have been no arrests made.
The man was the driver of a pickup truck. Behind his vehicle was an SUV, which had the driver and a passenger.
The passenger of the SUV said the pickup came to a sudden stop, which forced their vehicle to stop. The man then approached the SUV, cursing them out about driving too close to his truck. The man also said "he should kill them."
He returned to his pickup truck, turned around, and began walking back toward the SUV.
"As far as we know he was not armed with anything but the people who were in the vehicle weren’t aware. They claim this driver had told them he was going to kill them," said Polk County Sheriff's Office PIO Brian Bruchey.
The driver of the SUV feared that the man would kill him. According to investigators, the driver told them he grabbed a firearm and pointed it out the window toward the man, and fired.
The sheriff's office said witnesses reported hearing gunshots, with one telling them he heard a man yell 'I don't want to kill you!' and a woman yell, 'Don't kill him, don't kill him!'
The driver and passenger of the SUV stayed on scene for law enforcement to arrive.
The investigation is in the initial phase and detectives are seeking further evidence to corroborate the driver's statement.
"We see this kind of thing too often. Once is too often basically," Bruchey said. "Cooler heads need to prevail people just need to calm down."
Anyone who may have information on the incident is asked to contact the sheriff's office at (863) 298-6200.
