No Charges Filed In Road Rage Death

No charges will be filed in a road rage death that was ruled a homicide.

The District Attorney’s Office has completed its investigation into the death of 71-year-old Robert Gott, a man who died from injuries sustained in a fight on Sept. 6 in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs Police say Gott got into a fight with 57-year-old Kevin Cooke in the 1300 block of Cheyenne Boulevard.

Gott was stopped in his vehicle at the intersection of Cresta Rd and Cheyenne Blvd. Cooke was in his vehicle directly behind Gott. The light for eastbound traffic turned green and Gott did not begin driving. Cooke honked his horn to alert Gott that the light had turned green.

Investigators say Gott got out of his pickup truck and started walking over to Cooke’s truck. Gott allegedly appeared angry and and was gesturing with his hands. Cooke got out of his pickup truck and met Gott in between the two trucks. The DA’s office says Gott grabbed Cooke’s shoulders and shoved him. Cooke then shoved Gott off of him. Gott fell to the ground where he struck his head and was immediately knocked unconscious.

Gott suffered a closed head injury when he was knocked to the ground and was taken to Penrose Hospital.

Gott died from his injuries on September 20th.

The El Paso County Coroner performed an autopsy on Gott in September and his death was ruled a homicide.

Under Colorado law a person is justified in using physical force to defend himself from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, so long as the level of force used is reasonable. The DA’s office says the amount of force used in this incident was appropriate given Gott’s actions and Gott’s death was an unforeseen, tragic result.