Over 40 road rage calls linked to man accused of hitting and killing Austin man in May

35-year-old James Derks was arrested in May after Austin police say he ran over a man whose car he'd been tailgating.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man accused of running over and killing another man with his car in May has been arrested for another road rage incident that police say happened more than a year earlier.

35-year-old James Derks was arrested in May after Austin police say he ran over a man whose car he’d been tailgating. Investigators say when the victim, Eric Walz got out of his own vehicle and walked toward Derks, Derks accelerated toward him, hitting him, then leaving the scene.

When detectives began looking into Derks’ driving history, they found that over 40 9-1-1 calls had been made reporting someone driving recklessly or aggressively in vehicles registered in his name.

In calling some of those 9-1-1 callers back, detectives came across a case in January 2018, in which a woman said Derks pulled out a knife and pointed it at her in traffic when she wouldn’t let him over. The woman eventually pulled into a parking lot to call 9-1-1, and that’s when she says Derks stopped his vehicle, got out and began running at her vehicle with the knife. The woman told police her dogs began barking from the back of the vehicle, and Derks turned around and left.

At 6 p.m. on KXAN, Crime Reporter Jacqulyn Powell sits down with a detective to ask about Derks.