Texas road rage: Woman fatally shoots man in traffic dispute
02/19/2016 5:41 pm PST
An argument in Houston over a fender-bender turned deadly in a gas station parking lot on Sept. 17, 2012.
Rush hour in Houston on a hot summer morning. Traffic is snarling, temperatures rising, tempers flaring.
A minor fender-bender can turn into a major case of "road rage." That's what happened when Jonathan Ables and Crystal Scott were driving to work that morning. But only one of them had a gun, and only one would go home alive.
What happened that morning is in dispute. Is this a case of road rage turned deadly, or is it a case of a young woman who killed in self-defense?
On a busy highway in northwest Houston, Ables, 22, was driving to his job in the oil industry.
Crystal Scott, then a 23-year-old single mom was on her way to her office.
They were in adjacent lanes when Crystal apparently cut Jonathan off. Eyewitnesses say they were in a high-speed game of "chicken," running red lights, their cars brushing against one another.
They pulled into a gas station. Crystal says Jonathan got out of his pickup truck, ran toward her screaming profanities and banged on her car.
She says she feared for her life, and she pulled out her .40-caliber handgun and fired two shots. One hit Jonathan in the chest, killing him instantly.
Jonathan's parents Kyle and Charlene say they don't buy Crystal's version because eyewitnesses told cops he had his hands up, and a coworker who was in Jonathan's truck during the incident reportedly says he wasn't acting aggressively.
Crystal had a legal concealed-carry permit. She claims the gun was for her own protection. She told Crime Watch Daily by phone: "I would never do anything to hurt anyone unless my life was in danger."
Despite her claims, a grand jury initially indicted Crystal on a murder charge. But later the Harris County District Attorney dismissed the case, saying there wasn't enough evidence to prove murder.
Crime Watch Daily tracked down one of the witnesses, Adolfo Campos, who says he saw and heard it all. He spoke exclusively to Crime Watch Daily.
And in another Crime Watch Daily exclusive, Crystal Scott agreed to sit down with Ables's family for a first meeting.
The interview room was all set up, but at the last minute Crystal canceled. The family is left disillusioned and disappointed. They met with Crystal's attorney instead.
Crystal's attorney reiterates that her client "hurts for Jonathan and his family," and that "she definitely feels grief for them."
Jonathan's parents say they have some serious questions about how the investigation was run and they plan to push for federal charges.
They're also trying to start a national day of road rage awareness on September 17, the day their son was killed.
