Wisconsin man charged after fatal road-rage stabbing

Listen to this article

WAUPACA, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man was charged on Monday after a fatal case of road rage.

Tyler Knutson, 23, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide after stabbing a man on Saturday night in Iola. The victim is a 42-year-old Mukwonago man whom officials identified only by his initials.

According to the criminal complaint, Knutson was a passenger in one pickup, and the victim was a passenger in another. Both drivers said the other had engaged in aggressive driving practices, including following too closely, blinking between high and low beams and the lead-vehicle braking.

After the vehicles stopped, Knutson and the victim began pushing each other and then fell down on a snow-covered, slippery driveway. Knutson told officers he didn’t want the victim to hurt his face or break any bones, so he took out his knife, opened the blade and “poked him.” According to the complaint, Knutson told officers that the man did not punch or kick him.

An autopsy found the victim died of a single stab wound to the neck that was about 3 inches deep, WLUK-TV reported.

Cash bond for Knutson was set at $500,000. He’s due back in court Feb. 11. A public defender has not been assigned yet.