Gun violence

Couple says they were hunted like ‘an animal' by driver who shot at them on I-595

Jeff and Rondrica were headed out on Friday night to celebrate their 20th anniversary when an unknown man pulled up next to them in a black Dodge Ram and fired into their car, hitting Rondrica.

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A woman hurt in a road-rage shooting on Interstate 595 in Broward is speaking out.

A woman who was shot in the head by a stranger in what is being investigated as an inexplicable fit of road-rage on Interstate 595 was released after spending the weekend in the hospital – but the search for the man who fired the gun is still ongoing. 

Jeff and Rondrica were headed out on Friday night to celebrate their 20th anniversary, a marriage that Jeff called “one of the best gifts of my life,” they told NBC6. The couple wanted to be identified only by their first names as the suspect is still at large. 

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But that gift was almost torn away when they said the driver of a black Dodge Ram pulled up next to them shortly before 8 p.m. in the westbound lanes near Hiatus Road and opened fire. The couple says he was dressed in all black and unknown to them. 

“It’s like he came up behind us like he was preying [on] us, it’s almost like you [were] hunting an animal,” Rondrica said. 

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The shooting left Jeff wondering if he would lose his wife forever. 

“Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is the gunshot and the bang, and how my wife was In the truck,” he said. 

'I think this guy finna shoot at us'

In a news release, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said the incident happened when a black pickup truck approached the couple’s vehicle from behind at a high rate of speed.

“We just seen this truck speeding, coming up behind us fast,” Rondrica said. 

The couple said that’s when they moved over to try to get out of the way. The person in the truck didn’t stop. 

“So we got over [into] another lane, and he came over to the lane we were in, so we got over in another lane,” Rodrica said. “He cut all the lights on his truck.”

Jeff said he knew what was coming next. 

“I told my wife, ‘I think this guy finna shoot at us,’” he said. “So right as I could tell her to duck down, he already fired a shot.”

The gunfire just missed Rodrica’s husband before they said it ricocheted and went to the passenger seat. The bullet hole left behind after the shot pierced through the driver’s side of the car is clearly visible.

“Next thing I know, I just hear ringing and banging in my head,” she said, as she moved her hair back to show the wound. “It hit me in the side, on the temple.” 

Oh God… Hello, I think my wife got shot in the head.

Jeff to the 911 operator

Jeff pulled over on the highway, and his call to 911 captured the terror: “Oh God… Hello, I think my wife got shot in the head.”

“I’m actually on 595, there was a black Dodge Ram shot at me and my wife,” he went on, as Rodrica bled in the car. 

Now, Rondrica is home, resting and spending time with her family, knowing she was all too close to the end. 

“I just look at it as a second chance in life that God has given me, because in the middle of that passenger seat, I went somewhere where I came back from,” she says, overcome with emotion. 

Detectives are searching for the truck and the shooter. Authorities announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“This is a very disturbing case and detectives with the Broward Sheriff's Office Violent Crime Unit are looking for help from the public, any information they might have to help them find the person responsible for this apparent road-rage shooting," BSO spokesman Carey Codd said.

Anyone with info is asked to call BSO at 954-321-4888. Rondrinca's family has started a GoFundMe to help with her medical expenses.

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