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Jury selection underway in trial of road rage shooting

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A 65-year-old Brevard County man accused of shooting and killing a car dealer is on trial for what prosecutors said was a deadly case of road rage.

Williams Sherwood is charged with second-degree murder in the 2013 shooting death of John Pratt.

Police said Pratt was shot after the SUV he was test driving was pushed through the intersection of Babcock Street and Brevard Drive by Sherwood’s car.

During jury selection Thursday, there were a number of questions about firearms and self-defense.

According to police, Sherwood, who pleaded not guilty, told a witness he shot Pratt because Pratt was attacking him.

A witness called 911 shortly after the crash.

“One car was pulled to the side and is still in that position, another car was behind it. The driver of that front car got out to approach the driver of the back car and started yelling at him. The driver in the back car shot him twice,” the caller told the dispatcher.

Attorneys asked potential jurors if they’d ever been involved in a road rage incident themselves.

They also asked if they knew of the "stand your ground law," presumably because Sherwood has maintained he was not the aggressor in the deadly confrontation.

Opening statement in the case may begin Friday.