Alleged Road Rage Death Victim Had Anger Issues: Lawyer

By Joseph Hosey

Christopher Yeoman and Frank Egas both reportedly got out of their cars at a Romeoville spotlight and squared off in June 2011.

It was the culmination of an escalating road rage incident, police said, and Yeoman punched Egas, sending him to the pavement.

Egas, 64, died in a Lake County nursing home three months later and Yeoman, now 41, was charged with second-degree murder.

But Yeoman's attorney, Clifford Johnson, filed court papers alleging that Egas, a veteran of the Vietnam war, was in an anger management program and that a doctor pointed out his history of "road rages."

The filing also said Yeoman, a Lemont resident, will claim self-defense against, Egas who was "suffering from various personality disorders" and "acted out a symptom of these disorders in the form of road rage."

Johnson's filing alleged that a doctor noted after a Jan. 24, 2011, visit that Egas had "no further road rages since starting classes."

Will County Judge Sarah Jones said during a Thursday morning hearing that Johnson had not specified where or when these supposed past "road rages" occurred.

Yeoman and Egas first crossed paths near the intersection of New Avenue and 135th Street about 4:30 p.m. on June 2, 2011, where they engaged in a "traffic altercation," police said. The aggression between the two increased as they drove west on 135th and the men got out of their vehicles after stopping for a light at Route 53, police said.

That was where Yeoman allegedly threw the fateful punch.

In addition to second-degree murder, Yeoman faces charges of aggravated battery and aggravated battery to a senior citizen.

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