Robert Anthony Rodgers Jr., 51, was shot and killed in Clifton, New Jersey, on the night of December 20, 2024, in what authorities have described as a road rage incident. The encounter happened at about 11:47 p.m. at the intersection of Lakeview and Merselis avenues after both vehicles stopped at a red light. Rodgers, who had recently moved to Elmwood Park after being a lifelong Clifton resident, exited his white Honda Odyssey and approached a Ford F-150. He was struck once in the chest and later pronounced dead at Saint Joseph’s University Medical Center.

The driver of the pickup, 67-year-old Angel Pacheco of Clifton, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Rodgers’s wife said the pickup had been driving erratically and brake-checking them before the stop and that she heard a loud audible noise after her husband approached the truck.

Known as Bobby, Rodgers was a truck driver, devoted husband, father of five and grandfather of four who had recently purchased his first home. Does anyone have information about the events at Lakeview and Merselis avenues that night or about either driver’s movements beforehand?