I-78 road rage incident led to shooting of child in Whitehall Township, police say

Allentown man, 18, charged after drivers exchange gunfire

A man ... told police that he was driving near Route 100 and Interstate 78 when another motorist passed him on the left, nearly colliding with him.

The Thanksgiving evening road rage incident that led to a child being wounded in an exchange of gunfire began in Upper Macungie Township, where one driver passed another and nearly caused an accident, authorities said in court records.

A man, whose name is being withheld by The Morning Call because he wasn’t charged with any crimes, told police that he was driving near Route 100 and Interstate

78 when another motorist passed him on the left, nearly colliding with him.

The man — who had four passengers, including a child younger than 13 — said he turned on his high beams and began following the other motorist, who continually braked abruptly as they drove east on I-78. Both exited onto Route 22 and then onto Fullerton Avenue.

The man said he expected the other motorist, who was driving a Chevrolet Impala, to turn south on Fullerton while he turned north, but the Impala followed him north and pulled up next to him at the stoplight at Grape Street.

The man said he saw one of the occupants had a gun, so he stepped on the gas. The man in the Impala fired, and the man, who was also carrying a gun, fired back once, records say. The child, hit in the leg, was taken to a hospital, though officials on Thursday said the injury was not life-threatening.

A passenger in the man’s vehicle gave Whitehall police the license number of the Impala, which police traced to a residence on the 400 block of Fifth Street in the township. Officers found the car nearby with two male occupants, including 18-year-old Christopher Lee Bencosme of Allentown, who was sitting in the rear seat on the driver’s side.

Police said they found a semi-automatic handgun under the driver’s seat. Bencosme admitted firing eight shots at the other vehicle, police said.

Bencosme was arraigned Friday by District Justice David Howells. He was charged with aggravated assault and five counts each of firing a gun into an occupied vehicle and reckless endangerment.

He was sent to Lehigh County Jail on bail of under $250,000.