In the late afternoon of September 18, 2017, a dispute at a busy Omaha, Nebraska intersection tragically cut short the life of James Womack, a 32-year-old African-American male and U.S. Army veteran. The incident, which unfolded around 4:30 p.m. near 60th and L streets, began as a road rage altercation. Womack, a truck driver for Hill Brothers Transportation, reportedly got out of his semi-trailer and confronted the driver of a pickup truck.
A witness stated that Womack was walking back to his own truck when he was shot three times in the back. The day of the shooting was also his daughter's birthday.
Emergency responders arrived to find Womack with gunshot wounds. A nurse who was at the scene performed CPR in an attempt to save him before he was transported to a local hospital, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Womack was a father and husband who had served three tours in Iraq before moving to Omaha with his wife to raise their children. His death, described by an Omaha detective as "completely senseless," left his family devastated.
The investigation into the homicide led Omaha Police to arrest 24-year-old Michael Benson on the Saturday following the shooting. Initially, Benson was charged with being an accessory to a felony, and police indicated they were still searching for the person who pulled the trigger. However, the case against Benson evolved, and in March 2019, a Douglas County jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in Womack's death. In addition to the murder charge, Benson was also convicted of weapons and witness-tampering charges. His conviction brought a measure of closure to a case that began with a senseless act of violence on a city street.
