Jay Harrison Boughton, 56, was killed on July 6, 2021, in a road rage shooting on Highway 169 in the Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth. He was driving home with his son after a baseball game when, after honking and giving the other driver the middle finger in response to a vehicle that was speeding and swerving, Boughton was shot in the head.

The driver who was accused in the case is identified as Jamal Smith, 34, of Chicago. Prosecutors said Smith’s car had been reported by two other drivers earlier that day for dangerous driving, and one report alleged Smith pulled a gun on a Wisconsin motorist. Smith denied seeing Boughton’s car and said a backseat passenger fired the shot, but he was charged in connection with the killing.

Kristin Boughton and their children, Harrison and Amalie, were left grieving by the loss. The case raises questions about what led to the fatal escalation on a busy highway; anyone who witnessed the incident or has information about the vehicles involved is asked to come forward.