A 20-year-old Houston man is facing aggravated assault charges after allegedly firing multiple shots at a tow truck driver following a minor fender bender on the North Beltway. Mason Burke was arrested after the Nov. 3 incident in the 400 block of the North Beltway near Imperial Valley, and he has since appeared in court, where a judge imposed strict conditions on his release.
According to ABC13 Houston, Burke allegedly fired multiple shots into the tow truck driven by Vern Bennett after the two vehicles collided. Bennett told the station that Burke cut him off while he was driving on the North Beltway, and that his large tow truck could not stop in time, accidentally bumping Burke's car. Investigators said that, in the aftermath of that bump, Burke opened fire on the wrecker.
Bennett was not struck by any of the bullets, though he said his tow truck remained in the shop afterward for repairs to the bullet holes left in the vehicle. He said the collision itself was captured on camera by a nearby garbage truck, and that video was later turned over to investigators.
Charges and Court-Ordered Restrictions
Harris County Precinct 4 deputies said the suspect allegedly fired shots at the driver of a heavy-duty wrecker, according to click2houston.com. That outlet reported the suspect faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and that the investigation remained ongoing as of its report.
Following Burke's court appearance, a judge restricted him from driving without court permission, barred him from using or possessing marijuana, controlled substances, or dangerous drugs, and prohibited him from using a firearm, per the same ABC13 account.
A Pattern of Crash-Related Shootings in the Houston Area
This is not the only instance of gunfire following a Houston-area traffic collision. In a separate incident near Humble, Mykeria Mitchell, 21, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful carry of a weapon after a crash-related shooting, the station reported. The victim in that case said Mitchell fired five bullets, while the report described video showing her firing two shots into the air — a discrepancy the outlet did not resolve.
Other crash-related shootings in the region have ended far more tragically. In a separate suspected road-rage shooting in southwest Houston, a crash involving two trucks preceded a shooting that killed the man riding in a red truck, according to police cited by ABC13. And in a northwest Houston case, shots fired during an attempted tow left two people hurt; click2houston.com reported that no charges had been filed and that the case remained under investigation.
Taken together, these incidents underscore how quickly a minor traffic collision can escalate into gunfire on Houston roadways, though each case has unfolded with its own outcome — from no injuries to a fatality. In Burke's case, the investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue reviewing the dash-cam and garbage-truck footage tied to the crash.
