Driver and Biker Dead After Side-Swipe Leads to Parking Lot Gunfight

The parking lot at 27141 Baseline Street in Highland, Calif., in February 2022. (Google Maps/Screenshot via California Insider)

A road rage incident turned deadly Saturday after a father and his two children were side-swiped in their sedan by a passing motorcycle along the 210 Freeway in Highland, leading the driver to follow the biker to a nearby bar where they shot each other to death, according to authorities.

Corona resident Jonathan McConnell, 38, was riding his motorcycle on the freeway when he attempted to split lanes and struck the car of 37-year-old Aaron Harris, a resident of Highland, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in a July 27 press release.

After his car was struck, Mr. Harris followed Mr. McConnell off the freeway and into a parking lot at 27141 Baseline Street, according to the sheriff’s department. Mr. Harris was driving a sedan with his five-year-old and two-year-old at the time, officials said.

When Mr. Harris arrived, Mr. McConnell was waiting with “people known to him” in front of a bar called Joy’s Lounge, according to the press release.

The gun fight started after Mr. Harris first shouted threats from his car which triggered Mr. McConnell to approach. Mr. Harris then pulled out a weapon and started shooting, Mr. McConnell returned fire, and both men suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the sheriff’s department.

An adult male nearby was hit with a non-life-threatening shot to his hand, according to the press release.

The men were transported to a local hospital and despite life saving measures both were pronounced dead, authorities said.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department couldn’t confirm the whereabouts of Mr. Harris’s children.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Det. Shawn Thurman at 909-890-4904 or make a tip anonymously at 800-78CRIME or www.wetip.com.