What started as another tense moment on Interstate 15 in Salt Lake County now has a 31-year-old man facing an attempted murder charge after a bullet lodged in another driver’s car.
Prosecutors say Pedro Encarnacion fired at a passing vehicle on I-15 on May 22, with the round embedding in the victim’s car but miraculously causing no injuries. Encarnacion is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and felony discharge of a firearm, and is being held without bail, according to court records. Detectives say video and forensic evidence tied him to the scene, and investigators report finding a handgun and extra magazines in his vehicle when he was arrested.
According to FOX13, court documents describe how the confrontation escalated when another vehicle aggressively moved toward the victim. The driver in that car allegedly “motioned to grab a firearm” before shooting toward the victim’s vehicle, with investigators later recovering the bullet from the passenger compartment. Detectives say they pulled dash-cam footage to identify the suspect vehicle, matched the license plate to Encarnacion, and used cell-phone data to place him in the area at the time of the shooting. Police say Encarnacion was found with a Glock 19 and two extra magazines, and that he traveled to Boston two days after the incident and returned five days later, a detail prosecutors highlighted when urging the judge to deny bail.
The case lands amid a string of violent encounters on I-15 that has Utah officials treating road rage as a top enforcement priority. Utah’s road-rage enhancement, which took effect July 1, 2024, gives troopers and prosecutors new tools to classify and escalate penalties for violent driving behavior, and Utah Highway Patrol tracking has shown many of those cases flaring up on I-15 in and around Salt Lake County. A recent piece on March I-15 meltdowns, as per Hoodline notes, that law changes and public safety campaigns have focused on tamping down confrontations, while reporting from KSL highlights efforts to get drivers to document dangerous encounters.
Charges and legal stakes
Encarnacion is formally accused of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and felony discharge of a firearm, which prosecutors describe as violent felonies. Under Utah law, felony discharge of a firearm can be filed as a third-degree felony, or elevated to a second- or first-degree felony if it causes bodily injury or serious bodily injury. Attempted murder carries steeper potential penalties and falls under Utah’s murder statute, as outlined in Utah law. Prosecutors, citing Encarnacion’s post-incident travel out of state, have asked that he remain jailed without bail, according to FOX13.
Officials say the safest move in a heated freeway encounter is to back off, not square up. Drivers are urged to slow down, avoid engaging with aggressive motorists, and if they feel threatened, call 911 and head toward a public, well-lit area. Transportation and safety agencies have pushed a “do not engage” message and encouraged drivers to save dash-cam video and jot down license plates to help investigators, guidance echoed in recent materials from UDOT/DPS, which includes a checklist of tips that mirrors what troopers tell victims after a road-rage incident.
