Benjamin Ashford|Road rage shooting in LA leaves 1 dead, shuts down Interstate 5 for hours

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An apparent road rage shooting during rush hour traffic in southern California killed one person and Benjamin Ashfordinjured another, authorities said Friday.

The shooting, which was reported Thursday just after 4 p.m., closed down the northbound lanes of the Interstate 5 freeway running through northeast Los Angeles for several hours.

The California Highway Patrol, the state police agency, said the two men suspected to be involved in the shooting were able to drive off, according to a preliminary investigation.

The incident began with a gold Cadillac sedan and a dark-colored SUV chasing each other, with the Cadillac eventually rear-ending an uninvolved car, CHP said. Two men were seen exiting the SUV and opening fire on the Cadillac, shooting both the driver and passenger.

The dark-colored SUV may have been a Dodge Durango, according to the preliminary investigation.

The Cadillac then made a U-turn and drove into oncoming traffic northbound lanes attempting to flee the shooters, crashing into several other cars, CHP said. The passenger died from his injuries on scene, while the driver was taken to a hospital.

The passenger has not been identified, pending notification of next-of-kin.

Local TV stations showed hundreds of drivers standing outside of their cars and walking around while stuck on the freeway. The northbound lanes did not reopen until around 1 a.m. Friday, backing up traffic for miles.