The one-year anniversary of the day that 29-year-old Delonte Hicks of D.C. was shot and killed while driving a tow truck on Route 50 in Maryland is nearly here, and Maryland State Police are releasing new footage showing what happened at the exact moment he was killed.
The hope is that it’ll generate a tip finally leading to an arrest.
Hicks was shot and killed at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 19, 2022, as he drove eastbound on Route 50 between the exits for Route 202 and 410 near Veterans Parkway.
It’s believed that Hicks may have cut off another driver moments before the shooting, but police admit they don’t know that for sure.
In the video, you can see the driver of a dark colored, gray or perhaps black, 2018 or 2019 Hyundai Sonata then swerve around and pass Hicks on the right.
The rest of the sentence is hard to make out. Then he starts saying “alright, alright,” as he waves his hand out the window.
From there, several gunshots are fired, and Hicks pulls over on the shoulder and can be heard moaning in pain. The car continued going east on Route 50, and police aren’t sure where it went from there.
“Now that we know the model of the vehicle being a 2018 or 2019 Hyundai Sonata, we’re hoping maybe even a witness would remember seeing that vehicle now,” said Elena Russo, a spokesperson for Maryland State Police. “It’s really unusual that we’ve got a case like this where we see the driver, we’ve got the picture of the driver and nobody recognizes him or her. I know it’s not the best picture, but it’s a picture nonetheless.”
What police have not been able to make out is the license plate number of the vehicle. But it’s clear in the video that there were lots of other cars traveling in both directions at the time of the shooting.
“Whether they noticed this was happening behind them or in front of them, hopefully by putting out this video again and the pictures again it may remind them of the incident, and they’ll have a little bit of information that may help our investigators,” said Russo. “Any little tidbit of information could help get this investigation one step closer to finding who the suspect might be.”
At the same time, Maryland State Police say this incident is a reminder that no matter how agitated you might get at another driver, returning aggressive behavior can lead to bad outcomes.
“The best thing to do is create a distance between your vehicle and theirs,” said Russo. “Human behavior is so unpredictable. Why take it for granted? You never know what somebody is going to do and this case is a tragic reminder of how important it is to practice courtesy towards other motorists and avoid dangerous behaviors.”
In a statement released this week, MSP said drivers should avoid:
- unnecessary use of high-beam headlights
- unnecessary use of horn
- using hand gestures at other drivers
- tailgating and following too close
- distracted driving and erratic driving
MSP recommends that drivers stay attentive and drive defensive, practice courtesy towards other motorists, use turn signals well in advance of changing lanes or turning, drive the speed limit and provide safe stopping distance by driving 2-seconds behind the car in front of you.
Below is a map of the area where the road rage incident took place:
Anyone with more information about this case is urged to call or text 410-365-5941.
