Person Shot in Acworth Road Rage; Suspect in Custody

ACWORTH, GA -- Cherokee Sheriff's Office detectives have charged a Woodstock resident in connection to a road rage incident that left the victim riddled with gunshot wounds.

Ronald Beswick-Diaz, 34, is charged with six counts of aggravated assault, two counts of terroristic threats and acts, discharging a firearm near a roadway, aggressive driving, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and aggravated stalking, the agency said in a press release.

The incident unfolded Friday evening on Highway 92 at Robin Road in front of the Kroger shopping center. Cherokee 911 dispatchers began receiving calls around 8 p.m. from witnesses who reported one of the vehicles cut the other off.

The vehicles were described as a white van and a black SUV, and the drivers stopped in the middle of the state highway to argue each other. Those witnesses told authorities they saw "the barrel of a firearm come out of the window of the van and fire multiple shots at the SUV," the sheriff's office said.

The SUV fled the area westbound on Highway 92 and the van followed. The SUV drove to the sheriff's office's Oak Grove precinct at 100 Ridge Mill Court where "we believe he was looking for deputies," the agency said.

However, those deputies had been dispatched to calls of service at that time.

Additional gunshots were fired from the van at the SUV in front of the precinct, and the SUV continued to flee westbound on Highway 92 towards Interstate 75 as the van continued its pursuit.

The driver of the SUV made it to the Hardee's on Highway 92 at I-75 where it wrecked.

"The driver of the SUV then fled on foot, and the driver of the van exited his vehicle and chased the driver of the SUV through the Hardee's," the sheriff's office said. "The driver of the SUV was able to lose the driver of the van."

The driver of the van subsequently fled the scene via the southbound entrance ramp of the interstate. Cherokee sheriff's deputies later located the driver of the SUV behind the fast food joint with injuries to his leg, neck and arm.

The victim, 35-year-old Joseph Parker, was alert and talking and identified the driver of the van as Beswick-Diaz. Parker was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Beswick-Diaz was later located in Cobb County where Cherokee deputies took him into custody with the help of Cobb and Marietta police.

After talking with detectives, it was determined that both parties knew each other. Beswick-Diaz remains held at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center where he awaits a court hearing.

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Photo 1: Beswick-Diaz is shown allegedly holding a firearm in Hardee's on Highway 92
Photo 2: Beswick-Diaz's booking photo

Photo credits: Cherokee Sheriff's Office.