JSO: Driver killed on I-95 when passenger wakes up, fires shot

Driver, 2 passengers had been using drug known as 'Loveboat,' police say

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A driver was shot and killed by his passenger Sunday while headed north on I-95 after the passenger woke suddenly from a drug-induced stupor and fired without warning, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. 

Police said Steven Shawn Grady, 26, of Castle Hayne, North Carolina, was driving north on Interstate 95 about 3 a.m. when his front seat passenger, Tyrell Brown, 32, woke up, pulled out a gun and shot Grady in the head.

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A passenger in the back seat was able to get control of the vehicle, which hit several objects as it crashed on I-95 at the Union Street exit, police said.

According to JSO, Brown resisted violently and had to be hit several times with a stun gun when police arrived, after they were alerted to the crash and shooting by OnStar. He was taken to UF Health for his own safety, police said.

Police said the three were returning to North Carolina from Orlando and had been smoking cigarettes dipped in formaldehyde and marijuana -- known on the streets as "Loveboat." They had also taken an illegal drug earlier, according to the witness in the car.

That witness told police Brown has had several bad reactions to drugs in the past.

Brown was charged with murder in Grady's death.


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