HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A driver believes she heard the gunfire during an apparent road rage incident that killed a tractor-trailer driver along Interstate 295 in Henrico County late Friday.
Virginia State Police said the incident between two tractor-trailers happened around 11:30 p.m. along I-295 south at mile marker 25. That is where the interstate meets Route 895 in eastern Henrico.
Angela Williams said she was following a trailer-trailer and another big rig hauling cars. She recalled seeing the driver become aggressive and said it escalated.
"So that's when I thought, 'Oh, this is not going to be good,'" she said.
WATCH: Woman witnessed deadly road rage between tractor-trailers on Virginia interstate
Williams said the tractor-trailer in the center lane moved left toward the car hauler.
"Then all of a sudden the tractor-trailer that's in the center lane started moving left toward the car hauler," she recalled.
Then she heard a loud pop that sounded like a tire burst.
"All day today it's all I could think about," Williams added, realizing later that the sound may have been a deadly gunshot.
Troopers said several rounds were fired through the passenger side of the car hauler driven by 58-year-old Silvio Sobrinho of Massachusetts. He was found slumped over the wheel by a responding trooper.
"I just feel like now I could’ve helped a bit more," Williams said. "So that's weighing on me. So I feel the guilt. But it's scary to know that you’re that close to something that’s happening."
Troopers stated that the driver of the tractor-trailer — a rig described as white with green lettering— left the scene and has not yet been located.
A family friend of Sobrinho told Burkett that he was hauling cars south to Florida. She described the Brazilian native as a hardworking father of two daughters and two grandchildren, a husband with an enormous heart and the sole provider for his family.
The family is now facing emotional, physical, and financial hurdles in the wake of this tragedy.
"People just need to be aware that everybody is stressed right now. And just give everybody a little extra patience because life is short," Williams said.
Sobrinho's family has established a GoFundMe to benefit his wife and daughters after their "unimaginable loss."
"Sobrinho was not only just a hard-working man but a loving father with an enormous heart," the statement reads. "Their beloved husband and father, the sole provider of their family, left for work as usual — only for them to receive the devastating call that he would not be coming home."
Capt. Brien Frey with state police's Richmond Bureau of Criminal Investigation said the investigation is "active and ongoing."
“We urge anyone with information or dashcam footage related to this incident to come forward and assist law enforcement,” Frey wrote.
Anyone with information about the incident was urged to call the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 804-750-8758, #77 from a cell phone, or email bci.81@vsp.virginia.gov.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information, photos, or video to share.
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