Shooting on I-95 injures one man
A man in one vehicle was shot and another vehicle lost a passenger window when gunfire erupted on Interstate 95 Friday morning, leaving Florida Highway Patrol troopers scrambling to piece together what happened.
By late afternoon, FHP Lt. Alejandro Camacho said investigators determined that both vehicles had been shot at almost the same instant, when someone opened fire from a white sedan on the highway in Miami-Dade County’s north end.
The injured man’s wounds were not lifethreatening, Camacho said. And the driver of the other vehicle struck by gunfire was uninjured.
“Nobody exchanged fire. We don’t know why they were shot,” said Camacho.
Camacho said witnesses told investigators that someone inside a white sedan opened fire at a blue SUV driving north on I-95 at Northeast 151st Street just after 10 a.m. The gunfire blew out the passenger window, but the driver was uninjured.
A short while later, Camacho said, a gray vehicle showed up at an urgent care center on Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 131st Street with several occupants. One of them, a 19-year-old who was the driver, suffered a gunshot wound. Camacho said he was transported to Aventura Hospital.
Investigators weren’t certain at first if the incidents were separate or if there was an active shooter on the highway, forcing troopers to investigate several potential crime scenes. The interstate was never shut down as the driver of the SUV that had its window blown out pulled over to call police.
After interviewing witnesses, FHP investigators determined there was no exchange of gunfire and that both vehicles were struck during the same incident. The gray Dodge with several occupants was pockmarked with bullet holes. Camacho said the occupants of both vehicles said they had no idea why they were shot at.
Friday’s shooting brought to mind a January incident on the same roadway that has yet to be solved.
Almost a year ago, a Florida International University graduate was shot and killed on I-95 as she was on her way to visit her sick grandfather in the hospital. Melissa Gonazalez, 22, was driving when she was struck by a bullet and killed. Her boyfriend, in the passenger seat, grabbed the steering wheel and guided the car safely to a stop. The shooter still has not been caught.