Police warn of alarming trend on some Virginia interstates: ‘They need help’

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Cheryl Harris has seen some road rage just walking down Willis Road in Chesterfield, so it was not a stretch for her to hear about an interstate shooting near her home.

“A neighbor of mine told me about it yesterday; they just said that they had heard that somebody got shot on the interstate, on 95,” Harris said.

It represents the latest of a string of interstate shootings that some police agency say is alarmingly on the rise.

The shooting was reported at about 3:54 a.m. along southbound I-95 near the Bells Road and Willis Road exits, police said.

“The driver, a 31-year-old male from Chester, was operating a Hyundai Elantra when it was struck by gunfire in the driver-side window,” a Virginia State Police spokesperson said. “The driver was transported to VCU Medical Center for treatment of life-threatening injuries.”

Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett the shooting is believed to be targeted.

“They need help number one, but what scares me the most if he shot [a gun] he could have wrecked, and there’s so many other people on the road, somebody else could have got hurt,” Harris said.

Troopers are warning drivers to take notice after 18 interstate shootings in Hampton Roads so far this year, according to state police. Although the numbers in the Richmond region are not that high, CBS 6 has reported on several in the past year or so.

Police said most interstate shooting are not random, either stemming from personal beef or road rage. But they also endanger anyone driving nearby when they occur.

“With the virus, it made everything messed up for so long, and I don’t know if they feel like they don’t have anything better to do or what it is, but they need to be taken off the streets for sure,” Harris said. “If you’re mad, you need to back off and just because you never know if somebody’s like that.”

Defensive driving techniques can help on the front end, officials said. They also suggest installing a dash cam to capture any evidence if something happens near you.

Anyone with information about the Chesterfield shooting was asked to call Virginia State Police at 804-609-5656.

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