Updated at 6:53 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Troopers continue to look for the driver of black Jeep said to have fired upon another motorist on Interstate 5 north of Centralia this morning.
One shot shattered the rear window of the victim’s car, hit the rearview mirror and exited the windshield, according to authorities.
The 25-year-old man from Spanaway exited the freeway in Chehalis, after traveling away from his assailant at speeds of 85 to 90 mph, according to the Washington State Patrol. He was uninjured.
Initial information suggested the incident occurred near the Lewis-Thurston county line, when the Jeep did a brake check, meaning he tapped on his brakes for the driver behind him, Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.
The victim driver decided to go around the Jeep and that’s when the subject in the Jeep pulled out what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, Bailey said.
The incident was reported by the un-named victim driver at 11:04 a.m.
It actually began farther north, around the Scatter Creek Rest Area, and included some aggression from both participants, according to a spokesperson for the state patrol.
“(The 25-year-old) is running late for something in Centralia or Chehalis, is driving in the fast lane and comes up on a black Jeep Cherokee and got brake checked,” Trooper Will Finn said. “He gets angry, he gets around this Jeep and brake checks him.
Then he looked in his mirror and saw the barrel of a gun come out the driver’s side window, Finn said.
“He says two rounds were fired off,” he said.
A chase ensued continuing southbound, with the silver 2012 Mazda hatchback darting in and out of traffic and the Jeep pursuing him, Finn said.
The last time the victim saw the Jeep was around milepost 80, and the victim got off the freeway at exit 77, according to the state patrol.
Finn said troopers and deputies were stationed south of the incident waiting for the Jeep, but they never saw it, leading them to believe the Jeep exited the freeway in that area.
“Right now we’re asking anyone who witnessed this or saw this to call us,” Finn said.
Chehalis police reported it was a Jeep Wrangler, but Finn said it was a black Jeep Cherokee, perhaps a 2005 model or as new as a 2010. It was described as a “stock” vehicle, with nothing extra that stood out on it, and it had Washington plates, he said.
The victim said the shooter was an elderly white man with a white beard and somewhere between 60 and 70 years old.
He said there was a female passenger who looked as old as 80, wearing an oxygen mask, Finn said.
Finn said it’s possible someone knows a couple like that, or has had a similar experience with the driver of the Jeep.
He urged anyone with any information to call the state patrol’s non-emergency number of 360-449-7999.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
It maybe sounds like possibly the victim may need to have his eyes checked.The description of the driver firing shots and his passenger just does not sound right to me something isn’t really adding up here,maybe there should be a little more investigation into this dopey story sorry I’m not Buying this account of the vehicle and or description of what or who was firing the shots!!!! Maybe get your eyes and your head examined just because the guy break checked you why would you do it back there are other motorists on the road and it seems like if there were two shots fired another motorist would have called in already a lady with oxygen and an older man come on and if he said the motorist pulled off before he did why would troopers be waiting down the road for him or them to drive by really! ???? just a thought
Sounds like the entire event could have been avoided if everyone had driven like normal people (what si normal). I do not excuse firing at the vehicle because I certainly would not have run away down the highway but returned fire and would not have missed.
There is no place we have to be that requires us to drive like dopes in a big hurry but in today’s world we are driven by that clock.