Arrest Made In Fatal Road Rage Case On I-81
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A big break in the case of what Maryland police initially thought was a fatal road rage incident. Timothy Davison was gunned down last January by a driver while behind the wheel on I-81. Now police have his killer.
Christie Ileto has more on the tip that helped solve a violent ambush.
That break came when a man contacted police saying he and his wife were the intended targets that night.
It was a case of mistaken identity when police say John Strawser Jr. chased Timothy Davison for 15 miles into Pennsylvania before firing a barrage of bullets into his car.
The deadly encounter started on I-70 in Hagerstown.
"A local resident came forth in April of this year," said Commander Adam Kosheba.
A tipster blew the then-15-month-old case wide open.
"He and his wife had argued with the subject at times, including the night of the homicide, and that he had been looking for them that particular night," Kosheba said.
Court records reveal Strawser made threats to the couple as they left a nightclub. The pair drove the same route as Davison into Pennsylvania that very night.
"He smashed me with a car and pushed me across the median," Davison said in a 911 call.
Davison's calls for help are the last time his voice is ever heard. DOT cams caught Strawser turning around to finish the crime.
Davison was killed in January 2014 while driving from Florida to Maine. His family says they held out hope justice would be served.
"Definitely relief that `Hey, this person is not on the street,'" his mother, Theresa Allocca said.
The family posted the "good news" on their Facebook page.
"Knew right from the beginning that we'd eventually find this person," she said.
Strawser was already facing charges for murdering his 38-year-old ex-girlfriend. That crime triggered a tipster to come forward with details on Davison's case.
She says this is the first step and that a conviction for her son's death will bring the final piece of justice.
Strawser must be tried first in West Virginia for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He will then be extradited to Pennsylvania to be tried for Davison's murder.
