New Witness Accounts Shed Light on Highway 74 Shooting

New details are emerging in the deadly shooting that unfolded Tuesday along Highway 74, with witnesses and one of the drivers involved in an earlier crash clarifying what happened in the moments leading up to the gunfire.

Brett Moscrop, one of the motorists involved in a crash earlier that afternoon, says reports circulating online have incorrectly linked the crash to the later shooting.

According to Moscrop, he was driving home shortly after 2 p.m. when he encountered a tow truck driving erratically near Carrizo Drive. He said the tow truck stopped in the roadway, triggering a chain-reaction collision. Moscrop and another driver remained at the crash scene while the tow truck driver allegedly fled.

“There was no following. There was no rage. There was no shootout between the vehicles,” Moscrop said. “As far as we knew, it was a strange tow truck guy who caused an accident and then fled the scene.”

Witnesses told NBC Palm Springs that approximately seven miles away, near the Highway 74 and South Palm Canyon Drive construction zone, the same tow truck driver arrived at a traffic backup caused by roadwork.

According to witness accounts, the driver exited the tow truck, displayed a firearm and began shooting. Witnesses said an armed driver associated with the pilot vehicle guiding traffic through the construction zone returned fire, fatally wounding the tow truck driver and ending the incident.

Moscrop said learning what happened afterward left him shaken.

“If I would have confronted the guy or been upset with him after the accident, that could have been me or the other driver who got shot,” he said.

The shooting has also renewed calls for additional safety improvements on Highway 74. Community advocate Tina Bourgeois, whose stepson was killed on the roadway in 2024, said the latest tragedy highlights ongoing concerns about dangerous driving conditions and the need for increased law enforcement presence.

Bourgeois said local advocates continue working with transportation officials and lawmakers to push for additional safety measures, including greater enforcement and traffic-calming efforts along the mountain corridor.

Authorities have not yet released additional information about the shooting investigation.