Aug 27, 04:20 PM

Louisiana Road Rage Shooting Kills Pregnant Teen; Suspect Faces Murder Charge

A 17-year-old Louisiana high-school student, Katelynn Strate, died after being shot in the head during an apparent road-rage confrontation on Aug. 24 near Ponchatoula, about 50 miles north of New Orleans, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office. Strate was seven months pregnant; doctors at North Oaks Medical Center performed an emergency cesarean section minutes after her arrival, delivering a baby girl weighing 3 lb 11 oz. The infant remains in neonatal intensive care and is listed in stable condition. Strate was declared brain-dead and was removed from life support on Aug. 27, and her organs were donated, her family said. Investigators say Strate was a front-seat passenger in a Ford Expedition that had been tailgating and brake-checking with a silver Dodge pickup driven by 54-year-old Barry West. West allegedly fired a single round into the SUV, striking Strate. Detectives found no weapon in the Expedition and no evidence of shots fired from that vehicle. West was arrested hours later and initially booked on four counts of attempted second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon and obstruction of justice. After Strate’s death, prosecutors upgraded one of those counts to second-degree murder. He remains in the Tangipahoa Parish Jail. Sheriff Gerald Sticker called the killing a “senseless tragedy,” and state Attorney General Liz Murrill said the case underscores the consequences of road-rage violence.

#Louisiana #Katelynn Strate #Ponchatoula #New Orleans #Strate #North Oaks Medical Center #Ford Expedition #Dodge #Barry West #West #Expedition #Tangipahoa Parish Jail #Gerald Sticker #Liz Murrill

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