DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. -- Virginia State Police believe a Tuesday morning shooting on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, that sent a teenage driver to the hospital,was an isolated incident. Still, it has people who drive that stretch of interstate concerned about their safety.
"It’s scary when you can’t just ride and enjoy your little ride without somebody just automatically shoot you and don’t even know what they shooting at or who they shooting at," one driver told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil.
The news of the shooting hit Pauline Wyche hard. Gun violence has already impacted her family.
"My son was a victim in 2020. He was killed by gun violence in Petersburg. So it’s very sad to hear this and I just pray that gun violence will stop. It's just terrible," Wyche said.
The shooting has other drivers considering a change to their daily routine.
“We hear a lot of those people shooting at cars and stuff on 95, 85 and it’s very scary," another driver told Covil.
Virginia State Police are investigating whether Tuesday's shooting was at all tied to road rage.
AAA Mid-Atlantic recently shared that the number of people involved in road rage incidents across the country is on the rise.
Five hundred fifty-four people were shot in road rage incidents in the United States last year and 141 people were killed, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic (citing Everytown for Gun Safety data).
"That's twice what we saw back in 2018. That amounts to one person being killed or injured in a road rage incident about every 16 hours," AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Morgan Dean said.
Again, police are still investigating the circumstances that led up to Tuesday's shooting.
Anyone with information was asked to call Virginia State Police at 804-609-5656 or #77 from a cell phone.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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