A retired New York City police detective has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a Con Edison employee on the George Washington Bridge earlier this week, in a case investigators believe grew out of a road-rage dispute.

Victor Romero, 62, of Haverstraw, New York, is accused of fatally shooting Koran Irvine, 46, of Rockland County, during the evening commute Tuesday, according to Fox 5 New York's reporting on the case. Port Authority Police were called to the bridge's New Jersey-bound upper level just after 7 p.m. after reports of a single-car crash; officers found Irvine unconscious behind the wheel of a blue Volkswagen that had slammed into the center median, its rear window shattered and showing apparent bullet damage. He was taken to Englewood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead after being shot in the shoulder.

Six hours of gridlock

The bridge's upper level stayed shut for nearly six hours while investigators worked the scene, snarling westbound traffic before it reopened around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Romero was taken into custody the next day and charged with murder, according to Associated Press wire reporting carried by multiple outlets.

Investigators say the shooting appears to have followed a road-rage encounter; surveillance footage reviewed by police reportedly showed Irvine's car nearly colliding with another vehicle shortly before the gunfire. Authorities have not released a detailed account of what happened between the two drivers in the moments before the shooting.

A 26-YEAR NYPD CAREER ENDED BY GUNFIRE ONCE BEFORE — NOW HE FACES A MURDER CHARGE

Romero retired from the NYPD in 2001 after he was wounded in the hand and chest during an off-duty shootout in 2000, when he confronted men attempting to rob his family's laundromat in Brooklyn, according to the AP. He has not publicly commented on the charges against him.

Irvine's employer, Con Edison, confirmed he worked for the utility and said in a statement that the company was "heartbroken by the tragic loss of a member of the Con Edison family in this senseless act of violence." The case is being investigated jointly by the NYPD and Port Authority Police. What happens next will likely turn on forensic evidence — including ballistics from both vehicles — and any additional surveillance video investigators recover from the bridge and its approaches; Romero's arraignment status and any bail determination had not been made public as of Friday.