Driver charged in road shooting

Police: Incident started when truck cut in front of motorcyclist

HALLANDALE BEACH – Months after a traffic dispute led to the deaths of two men along a road in Davie, a motorcyclist was severely injured after confronting a driver in Hallandale Beach.

It happened Saturday as vehicles jockeyed for position near the busy Hallandale Beach Boulevard exit off Interstate 95 when the driver of a white truck apparently cut in front of the motorcyclist.

Seconds later, the rider “dismounted his motorcycle and approached the defendant’s driver door,” a Hallandale Beach police arrest report said.

The truck driver fired off three rounds from a black, .40 caliber Astra Panther handgun — hitting the motorcyclist in the torso and right arm, according to police.

The truck driver, Stephen Thomas Tripp, 59, of Hollywood, faces multiple felony charges.

The wife of the unidentified motorcyclist told investigators that Tripp’s truck zipped in front of them “very closely, from the far right lane across to the far left lane,” according to the arrest report.

Witnesses told investigators the motorcyclist went toward Tripp during the confrontation.

“Based on witness testimony, the victim, while approaching Mr. Tripp’s vehicle, posed no threat, was not acting hostile in any manner, was not in possession of any weapons. Mr. Tripp fired multiple times at the victim, then exited his vehicle and fired at the victim again while the victim was defenseless on the ground,” Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder said during a court hearing Monday.

The motorcyclist was taken to Aventura Hospital & Medical Center where police were told he was hit twice — that his “right arm was shattered” and that a bullet hit his liver, according the arrest report.

Assistant Public Defender Hector Romero said that it was Tripp who called 911 after the incident and that he’s “looking forward to having his day in court.”

Tripp is facing charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He has been released on bonds totaling $150,000.

Another public defender, Brian Reedy, didn’t dispute the allegations reported by police but noted that when it comes to approaching someone’s vehicle during a dispute, “It’s just a dangerous thing to do, especially these days.”

In the incident in June in Davie, investigators said Keith Byrne, 41, accidentally cut off another car on Flamingo Road, just south of Interstate 595, and was preparing to stop and apologize at the next traffic light when the other driver, Andre Sinclair, 22, shot him.

Byrne was also armed and shot back. Byrne died at the scene of the shooting and Sinclair died at a hospital two days later. At the time, Davie police called the tragic incident “pointless.”