Today, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters announced no charges will be filed in the Colerain Township road-rage shooting.

On January 21, 2022, Colerain Township Police responded to reports of a shooting on Interstate 275 at Blue Rock Road. Upon arrival, police found a Chevrolet Colorado wrecked into the rear of a Sprinter van. Police also found Eric Duke, the driver of the Sprinter van, deceased. Duke was found to have suffered a single gunshot wound to the head.

The investigation conducted by the Colerain Township Police Department determined Duke and the driver of the Colorado had been engaging in road rage. Multiple witnesses on I-275 contacted police and described reckless driving between the two vehicles.

Witnesses described the van going on to the shoulder, driving side-by-side with the Colorado. Duke forced the driver of the Colorado across multiple lanes of travel, into the high-speed lane. Duke then pulled his vehicle in front of the Colorado and slammed on his brakes – forcing the Colorado to stop in the high-speed lane. Duke then reversed his vehicle into the front bumper of the Colorado.

At this point, Duke exited his vehicle and approached the driver-side door of the Colorado. Duke began banging on the window and attempting to gain entry into the vehicle. The driver of the Colorado had his legs up in a defensive position. The driver also warned Duke that he had a gun. At that point, Duke struck the driver in the mouth and the driver fired one shot – striking Duke in the head.

Physical evidence at the scene was consistent with the driver’s version of events. Duke’s finger and palm-prints were located on the driver-side door of the Colorado, Duke’s blood was located outside and inside the driver-side door, the interior of the driver-side door had evidence of the driver kicking and the center console was broken – consistent with his statement that there was a struggle to keep Duke out of the vehicle. The driver called 911 and remained on-scene until police arrived.

Prosecutor Deters commented, “The evidence is clear. Both drivers engaged in behavior on our roadways that is totally unacceptable.

Eric Duke escalated the situation to a point that deadly force was warranted.

It should be a reminder to everyone that rudeness and misbehaving while operating a two-ton vehicle is deadly dangerous.

I want to commend the Colerain Township Police Department for their extremely thorough, detailed investigation.”