A road rage confrontation on a Salt Lake City highway in the early morning of October 7, 2024, escalated into a fatal shooting that claimed the life of Jose R. Ramirez, a 50-year-old Hispanic man. The incident began around 5:20 a.m. on eastbound state Route 201 in West Valley City. According to witness dashboard camera footage, Ramirez, driving a black Dodge Ram pickup, merged across two lanes of traffic in front of a Ford Explorer driven by 44-year-old Thomas Jim Long.
In response, Long
sped past Ramirez, pulled in front of him without signaling, and braked hard. This set off a dangerous exchange between the two drivers. The footage showed Long repeatedly brake-checking Ramirez, while Ramirez swerved into Long's vehicle. The altercation ended when both vehicles swerved into each other and crashed into a concrete barrier near 1000 West.
After the crash, Long allegedly got out of his vehicle, walked to the driver's side of Ramirez's truck, and fired 15 rounds at close range. When Utah Highway Patrol troopers arrived, they found Ramirez deceased in the driver's seat, still wearing his seatbelt. An autopsy later determined that Ramirez had been shot eight times from a distance of no more than three feet. Investigators who processed the scene found 15 shell casings but recovered no weapons from Ramirez or his vehicle.
Long was arrested and in a 911 call made shortly after the shooting, he claimed he had been run off the road and that his life was threatened. He told the dispatcher that Ramirez had pulled something from his waistband, which prompted him to shoot in self-defense. Prosecutors argued that Long made a conscious decision to escalate a simple traffic dispute. He was charged with first-degree murder, eight counts of firing a gun causing serious injury, and six additional counts of illegally firing a gun.
In January 2026, a jury found Thomas Jim Long not guilty of murder. However, he was convicted on 11 felony counts for discharging a firearm during the incident. On March 3, 2026, 3rd District Judge Kara Pettit sentenced Long to prison. He received two terms of five years to life and nine terms of three to five years, with the sentences to be served concurrently. As of March 2026, Long was serving his sentence.
