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Updated 7 minutes ago
A bullet that tore through a West Newton-area woman's car on Saturday could've been deadly had its trajectory been a few inches higher.
“I don't know if he had a bad night or what happened, but he just did what he did,” the 53-year-old woman told reporters Tuesday, recounting a frightening road rage incident in Rostraver Township.
Police are looking for information about a man who was driving a white Buick sedan on Route 51 near the Interstate 70 interchange around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Police Chief Greg Resetar said the suspect pulled over along the highway, got out of his car and fired a shot at the victim's vehicle as she drove past. Police did not release the victim's name to protect her.
“We did recover the slug from the vehicle itself, and we also recovered the casing that was found on the side of the road,” Resetar said.
The victim was traveling home in the right lane of Route 51 northbound when she noticed the Buick speeding on an exit ramp connecting the highway to Interstate 70 eastbound. The exit ramp has a stop sign.
The victim was unable to change lanes in her copper-colored Chevrolet Trax to allow the Buick space to merge, Resetar said. Then, she noticed the Buick following closely behind her and flashing its lights. The driver then sped past her, cut her off and began to “brake check” her, he said.
The woman said she flashed her lights back.
“This obviously angered the other driver,” Resetar said, adding that the driver sped away and pulled off the highway near C. Harper Auto Plex.
The victim saw the driver standing on the road holding what she thought was a bottle.
“I thought, ‘Oh no, he's going to hit my car,'” she recalled. “When it hit my car, I thought he shattered the passenger back window.”
She pulled over to investigate but quickly got back in when she realized the Buick took off onto Vernon Drive toward West Newton.
“I tried to catch up with him,” she said. “He was going 60 miles per hour and that road is dangerous to go that fast.”
The bullet entered just below the window and was stopped by the door post, Resetar said. Police believe it was fired by a semi-automatic handgun, either .40- or .45-caliber.
“If the bullet would've been just a few inches higher, it could've very easily struck our victim,” he said.
Police hope motorists traveling through that area at the time or someone who may know the suspect can help the investigation. The victim described him as a tall white man with dark hair. He was wearing jeans and possibly a sweater with white sleeves. The car had a Buick emblem in the center of the trunk and the word Buick on the left side of the trunk.
The victim pleaded with the suspect to surrender.
“You know you did it, please come forward and get anger management and just hopefully you don't do it to nobody else,” she said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Rostraver police at 724-929-8811 or Westmoreland 911.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.
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