Parrish man sentenced to 30 years for road rage killing

BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) - A Parrish man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing a Palmetto man with his truck during a road rage incident in 2018.

John Thomas Cray was driving a pickup truck on Dec. 6, 2018 behind a sedan driven by Bradley Yost, 32, of Palmetto.

The vehicles were traveling eastbound on Bayshore Road, west of U.S. 41, when investigators say the drivers got into some type of altercation.

Police say both drivers stopped on the side of Bayshore Road. Yost got out of his vehicle and started walking toward Cray’s truck. That’s when Cray accelerated, hitting Yost, who became lodged underneath Cray’s truck and was dragged nearly two miles, all the way to the westbound lane of 73rd Street, west of U.S. 41.

After a six-month investigation, Cray was charged with manslaughter with a weapon and leaving the scene of a crash with death.

Cray had sought to use a Stand Your Ground defense, but that was denied by the judge. Cray entered an open plea. On Aug. 10, after hearing testimony from the defendant and the victim’s family, Cray was sentenced to 30 years in Manatee County Court.