Victim of fatal traffic accident in Orinda identified

ORINDA, California. – Authorities have identified the man who was shot after a heated road rage incident that sent shockwaves through Orinda.

The victim was identified as 50-year-old Scott Patrick Decker of Orinda.

The fatal shooting occurred after a rolling dispute that ended at Las Vegas Road and La Espiral, north of Highway 24, involving a Toyota 4Runner driven by Decker and a Tesla shortly after 11 a.m.

The shooter, who was driving the Tesla, told police he shot Decker in self-defense after Decker blocked him with his SUV, got out and hit him.

The driver, described only as a 72-year-old man, was detained but not arrested.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Rare fatal shooting in Orinda linked to road rage

The Tesla driver lives half a mile from the crime scene.

Decker's father, Scott Decker, told KTVU on Friday that he was estranged from his son but was saddened by his death.

“Too young, too fast,” he said. “He was a great kid. I hadn't seen him in 10 years.”

He added: “It's just sad, just so sad that so much talent is wasted.”

Asked about reports that the other driver told police he acted in self-defense, the father said: “I have no idea what Scott did, you know? He could be pretty aggressive at times, so I don't know. But I'll let the police figure that out, and I don't even want to get involved in that.”

Neighbors told KTVU that Decker was engaged and had been caring for his fiancée's children in Orinda.

No one answered the door of the suspected shooter's home on Friday. A man who answered the phone earlier in the day hung up when KTVU contacted him.

A large police presence was on site on Thursday. Officers from Lafayette, Moraga and the Costa Contra County Sheriff's Office were on duty, as murders are rare in the wealthy city of 19,000 residents.

“I heard a loud bang and at first I thought, 'OK, gun,' but then I thought, 'No way.' I thought maybe it was like a tire bursting,” Shawn James previously told KTVU after the shooting.

In 2019, a Halloween party at an Airbnb turned deadly when a mass shooting left five people dead and four others injured.

Henry Lee is a crime reporter for KTVU. Email Henry at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan