Willowbrook man charged in road rage incident

Bond was set at $600,000 on Aug. 26 for a Willowbrook man accused of firing a handgun from his car at another vehicle, authorities said.

Antonio Garcia-Dealba, 52, of the 700 block of Mockingbird Lane, was charged with one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 3:49 p.m. Aug. 24, Burr Ridge police responded to a call of shots fired in the 600 block of Kingery Highway, according to the release.

The victim and Garcia-Dealba allegedly were waiting in the left turn lane of westbound 91st Street at Kingery Highway with the victim behind Garcia-Dealba. When the left-turn arrow turned green, Garcia-Dealba did not move, causing the victim behind him to honk her horn. After allegedly extending his middle finger at the victim, Garcia-Dealba turned left onto southbound Kingery Highway. Garcia-Dealba then allegedly pulled his vehicle to the right side of the road and slowed down at which time the victim passed Garcia-Dealba on the left, according to the release.

As the victim passed Garcia-Dealba, he pointed a gun at her vehicle and fired one shot, striking her vehicle on the rear passenger door. Garcia-Dealba then allegedly fled the scene. An investigation into the matter led to Garcia-Dealba as a suspect in the shooting. Burr Ridge police arrested Garcia-Dealba at his home later that day without incident, according to the release.

“It is alleged that Mr. Garcia-Dealba opened fire on another vehicle in the middle of the afternoon on an extremely busy road after another motorist honked their horn at him,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “This type of extremely dangerous, violent behavior that puts innocent motorists at risk will not be tolerated in DuPage County. Thankfully, no one was injured as a result of Mr. Garcia-Dealba’s alleged actions.”

“The allegations that the road rage suspect fired a handgun at the victim’s car is a very serious matter,” Burr Ridge Chief of Police John Madden said in the release. “When firearms are involved, it escalates the situation to a potentially life-threatening level.”

Garcia-Dealba’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 11 for arraignment.