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Gary Lynne Durham: Florida Man Who Spent 10 Years In Prison For Road Rage Killing Now Killed In Similar Traffic Dispute

By Mohit Priyadarshi
Published on: 04:47 PST, Aug 11, 2016

Gary Lynne Durham, a Florida resident who spent 10 years in jail for taking the life of another man during a traffic dispute in 2001, met his own end under similar circumstances on Wednesday morning, according to reports emerging in local media.

The ironic nature of the case has sparked a range of reactions on social media, with some people pointing out that “poetic justice” had been served, while others said that the Florida man did not deserve to die having already served his punishment.

In any case, Durham’s case is one that is sure to elicit an array of reactions, not only because of the manner of his demise, but also because he fell victim to the same sort of road rage that had once pushed him enough to take another man’s life.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the incident took place at 7 a.m. in Florida’s Plant City, when Durham, driving his black Mazda pickup, stopped the car in front of 42-year-old Robert Padgett’s Ford SUV. Both of the drivers got out of the respective cars and started arguing. The reason for the confrontation remains shrouded in mystery at this point.

The dispute soon escalated to a full-scale confrontation, reports the New York Daily News, at which point Padgett pulled out his handgun and fired at least one round into Durham. Padgett had warned Durham before he pulled out the gun, according to WFLA-TV.

After he fired his shot, Padgett called 911 and tried to resuscitate a dying Durham on the pavement, but to no avail. Gary Lynee Durham succumbed to the gunshot soon after.

No charges have yet been pressed against Padgett, as investigators continue to explore if Florida’s self-defense laws will protect him from prosecution. When Tampa Bay reporters arrived at his home to listen to his side of the story, he merely told them that it had been a “very taxing” day and did not comment on the incident any further.

Road rage has claimed about 200 lives in the last seven years. [Image via iStockphoto]
But while the perpetrator’s side will no doubt be important to prosecutors, it is Gary Lynne Durham’s story which is actually perplexing people. Before Durham fell victim to the road rage incident on Wednesday, he had been responsible for perpetrating similar violence that put him behind bars for a decade.

In October, 2001, Durham got into a verbal argument with the driver of a passing car, 48-year-old Timothy James Gibbs, after which he followed him into a nearby parking lot. When Gibbs stepped out of his car, he was met by Durham. They continued their verbal argument in the parking lot, and at one point a fuming Durham sucker punched Gibbs so hard in the face that he collapsed on the concrete floor, striking his head against it.

Durham then drove off in the car without informing the authorities. Gibbs died three days later of a brain hemorrhage and skull fracture, causing the prosecutors to charge Durham with manslaughter. He was convicted a year later and spent 10 years in jail before being released in 2012. He was on parole till 2017.

[Image via Thinkstock]
Gibbs’ widow, Nancy Gibbs, told the Times that Durham got what he deserved.

“It’s a shame that he didn’t learn his lesson while in jail. I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about him or running into him somewhere. It’s ironic that he died in the same way as my husband.

“I know it’s not the Christian thing to say, but this is poetic justice.”

But Gary Lynne Durham’s wife, whom he married in 2015, said that the Florida man had changed his ways and the picture presented of him in the media is different from what he actually was. She said Durham was a generous man who often gave money and rides to homeless people.

“Just because he went to jail, that did not define who he was. He wasn’t this angry person who went around angry all the time. People only see the side that the media spreads. They don’t know him like I did or his family did.”

Whether or not he deserved what happened to him, the fact of the matter is Gary Lynne Durham fell victim to something that takes a lot of lives on American streets every year — road rage — with reports suggesting that 200 people have been killed as a result of road rage incidents over a seven-year period.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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