On a December afternoon in 2016, a simmering road rage dispute on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in New Orleans escalated into a tragedy that cut short the life of Joe McKnight, a 28-year-old Black male and former NFL player. The conflict, which began with aggressive driving, continued for five miles, ending at an intersection in Terrytown, a suburb of Gretna, Louisiana.
Witnesses reported that McKnight had been weaving through traffic at high speed before the fatal confrontation.
The other driver, 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, followed McKnight off an exit. At a stoplight, McKnight exited his vehicle and approached the passenger window of Gasser's car. It was then that Gasser, from inside his vehicle, fired his gun, fatally wounding McKnight. Gasser did not flee the scene and handed his weapon over to the authorities when they arrived. McKnight was found to be unarmed.
Initially, Gasser was taken into custody for questioning and then released, a move that sparked protests from some who believed race was a factor in the handling of the case. However, after what law enforcement described as a thorough investigation, Gasser was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He maintained that he had acted in self-defense, fearing for his life.
In January 2018, a jury found Gasser guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. The verdict, however, was not unanimous, with a 10-2 vote. Gasser was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison. The legal saga was far from over. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that non-unanimous jury verdicts were unconstitutional, which led to Gasser's manslaughter conviction being overturned. Prosecutors attempted to retry him on the original second-degree murder charge, but the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that this would constitute double jeopardy.
Faced with a new trial solely on the manslaughter charge, Ronald Gasser ultimately pleaded guilty. In November 2024, having served less than eight years of his original sentence, he was released from prison.
