Police say a passenger in a Hyundai shot 46-year-old Jason Paoletti after a roadside dispute as he returned to work from lunch.

NEWARK, Del. — What began with two vehicles stopped at a red light ended with a Delaware motorcyclist mortally wounded in the roadway and a passenger from the other vehicle facing a first-degree murder charge, according to Delaware State Police. Jason Paoletti, 46, of Bear, died after the Aug. 4 shooting at Salem Church Road and Old Baltimore Pike, an intersection near the repair business where relatives said he was heading after lunch.

Police described the confrontation as a road-rage shooting, but several important details remain unexplained. Investigators have not publicly said what started the argument, what Paoletti intended to retrieve from a motorcycle saddlebag or what was said immediately before the gunfire. Authorities allege that William Simpler Jr., 28, of Saint Georges, was sitting in the Hyundai Elantra’s front passenger seat and shot Paoletti after Paoletti got off his motorcycle and reached toward the bag. Simpler has been charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The charges are allegations, and police noted that he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The sequence released by police begins at about 1:30 p.m. Paoletti was riding behind a Hyundai Elantra as both vehicles reached a red light at Salem Church Road and Old Baltimore Pike. Investigators said Paoletti then moved his motorcycle in front of the Hyundai. The Hyundai pulled alongside him on his left, and Paoletti and people in the car became involved in a verbal dispute. Police have not announced who initiated the exchange or identified the Hyundai’s driver in the public statement reviewed for this report. Their account describes only the movements investigators say preceded the shooting and does not explain why the encounter escalated.

Detectives said Paoletti stepped away from his motorcycle and began reaching into a saddlebag. At that point, police allege, Simpler fired at him from the front passenger seat. The Hyundai then left the intersection. State police were called to a reported shooting and found Paoletti lying in the roadway with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Local television reports, citing witnesses at the scene, said people nearby initially believed Paoletti was suffering a medical emergency rather than a gunshot wound, a misunderstanding that changed as they moved closer to help him.

One witness who asked not to be identified told WPVI that bystanders first thought Paoletti needed medical care for an unexplained emergency and tried to call 911. The witness said Paoletti then told the people around him that he had been shot in the back. Other witnesses discovered that he had multiple wounds as people attempted to assist him before first responders arrived. Paoletti’s sister, Dawn Paoletti, told the station that a daughter of his fiancée, who is a paramedic, was among those who rushed toward the injured man and recognized him. The accounts provide a view of the immediate aftermath but do not answer what prompted the confrontation.

The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit took over the investigation. Detectives said they identified both the Hyundai and Simpler through investigative work that authorities have not described in detail. Investigators went to Simpler’s residence, where police said he was arrested without incident. He was taken to State Police Troop 2, charged and brought before a Justice of the Peace Court for arraignment. Authorities said he was then committed to the Delaware Department of Correction on a $1.5 million cash bond. Police did not announce charges against the Hyundai’s driver in the initial release or describe whether other occupants were being treated as witnesses.

The official police account is preliminary, an important distinction in a case in which the central moments happened quickly at a public intersection. State police said Paoletti and the Hyundai’s occupants were arguing, and they classified the episode as road rage. Paoletti’s family has challenged any suggestion that he was characteristically violent. Dawn Paoletti told WPVI that her brother was not a violent person and described him as someone she admired throughout her life. His brother, Nicholas Paoletti, similarly told FOX 29 that Paoletti might speak his mind but would not seek to hurt another person. Those comments reflect the family’s view of him, while police continue to investigate the encounter itself.

Paoletti had been returning from lunch to the auto-repair shop where he worked, according to relatives interviewed by local news outlets. FOX 29 identified the business as J and C Auto and reported that hundreds of people later gathered outside it to remember him. Family members and friends filled the area with cars and motorcycles, revving engines and gathering near the intersection where he had been shot. The memorial reflected two parts of Paoletti’s life repeatedly described by those close to him: his work as a mechanic and his enthusiasm for motorcycles, racing and vehicles.

His obituary identified him as Jason “Jay” Lee Paoletti and described him as a son, brother, uncle, fiancé, partner and friend. It said he worked as an auto mechanic and enjoyed understanding how cars worked, solving mechanical problems and bringing engines back to life. Motorcycles and racing were also central interests, and his obituary said the motorcycle community had become an important part of his social life. He was survived by his mother, siblings, fiancée, extended family and other loved ones. Funeral services were listed for Aug. 23 in North East, Maryland, followed by a celebration of life in Elkton.

The community memorial also became a place where relatives addressed the public description of the shooting. Nicholas Paoletti told FOX 29 that the killing felt senseless and said his brother wanted motorists to respect motorcycle riders. At another vigil covered by WPVI, a crowd of about 200 people gathered with the cars and motorcycles Paoletti enjoyed. Pastor John Willis of Freedom Biker Church described the motorcycle community as a family coming together to mourn. The gatherings did not resolve the disputed or unanswered parts of the encounter, but they showed how quickly the case expanded beyond a police investigation into a major loss for Paoletti’s family, customers and riding community.

The evidence that will determine the criminal case has not been fully made public. Police have not disclosed in their release what Paoletti was reaching for, whether any object was recovered from the saddlebag, what evidence led detectives to Simpler or whether investigators obtained video of the confrontation. Authorities also have not publicly explained the original cause of the argument. Those gaps matter because Simpler faces the most serious homicide charge under Delaware law, while the publicly available narrative remains an allegation based on an investigation that police described as continuing.

In its Aug. 5 announcement, Delaware State Police stated that the Homicide Unit continued to investigate and asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators. The public materials reviewed for this report did not establish a later disposition of Simpler’s murder case. He therefore remains an accused defendant, not a convicted offender, while Paoletti’s family continues to mourn a motorcycle ride back from lunch that ended at a red light only a short distance from his workplace.

Author note: Last updated September 20, 2026.