CLEVELAND, Ohio — The road rage incident that killed Christopher Andexler in Valley View on Thursday is the latest in a rapidly spreading trend on Ohio’s roadways and across the country.

Authorities said Andexler, 41, of Cleveland, died in a shooting at the intersection of Granger and Brecksville on Thursday morning. Two people are in custody, but Valley View police have released little information about the incident.

His death came just days after investigators said Jason Williams, 53, of Cuyahoga Falls, shot Megan Keleman, 25, of Stow in the drive-thru lane of the Taco Bell at the corner of Graham Road and Hudson Drive on Aug. 14. He then committed suicide.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says the number of road rage incidents investigated by officers has increased 23 percent statewide since 2019, when there were 1,755 cases. Last year, there were 2,157.

Since 2019, there have been 11,169 reports of road rage in Ohio, according to police data. Cuyahoga County had 140 incidents. That’s nothing compared to Warren County in southwest Ohio, which led the state with 580 cases.

According to state records, Portage leads the Northeast Ohio counties with 419 counties.

A police spokeswoman said Friday that not every incident is violent or results in property damage. The incidents reflect cases where a person calls police to investigate the incident. Some incidents are due to minor inconveniences, such as drivers checking their brakes, while others result in violence.

“Regardless, you can see that we take every call seriously and respond accordingly,” said Sgt. Bridget Matt, a patrol spokeswoman.

An analysis by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence, reported in April that the number of road rage shootings nationwide increased 400 percent from 2014 to 2023. That’s a jump from 92 to 481.

Andexler’s death occurred at 10 a.m. Thursday, reports WKYC, which works with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. The station, citing police, reported that an altercation occurred between Andexler, who was driving a gray pickup truck, and a couple in a minivan with two children on board.

How the argument came about is unclear.

According to WKYC, police said the driver of the minivan shot Andexler, who later died. The couple fled and later crashed next to Schaaf Road in Brooklyn Heights, the station reported. The children, ages 2 and 4, were in the car, the report said.

Repeated attempts to reach Valley View police for details of the incident were unsuccessful.

The attack followed the shooting that shocked Stow residents. In that case, the incident began when Keleman pulled her car in front of Williams’ car in the Taco Bell drive-thru lane, police said. Williams honked at her and then crashed his car into Keleman’s car.

Williams got out of his vehicle and shot Keleman in the neck, authorities said. Police said the two did not know each other.

“These shootings are happening in nearly every corner of the country,” The Trace’s analysis reported. “Many are sparked by collisions or drivers cutting each other off in traffic, while in others the motives are not always clear.”