CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A woman witnessed an apparent road rage incident last week in Clay County, she told News4JAX on Tuesday.
It happened Friday evening on Blanding Boulevard near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue.
Jerry McEver said that he was shot and that the other person in the vehicle at the time of the incident — his brother — was also taken to a hospital with cuts to his face.
Witness Tiffany Hagan, who works in the medical field, told News4JAX that she believes she was in the right place at the right time to help the man that had been shot.
In a video, Tiffany Hagan is driving and a passenger is recording a red truck up ahead. Just minutes before Hagan said she witnessed a man shoot into a white van with McEver and his brother inside, Hagan decided to follow the truck at a distance.
She said she called 911 and relayed what happened.
Hagan said she then went back to the van on Blanding Boulevard to help McEver and his brother — both of whom were in town for work.
News4JAX spoke with McEver earlier this week, and he recalled the moment he was shot.
“The minute he couldn’t get in front of me because, evidently, I didn’t let him, he just pulled out the gun and shot,” McEver said.
Hagan immediately took action to assist the brothers, with the help of a relative.
“He’s lucky to be alive because nobody stopped for that guy,” Hagan said.
McEver recounted, “She was, like, ‘I gotcha. I gotcha.’”
“I’m just holding pressure, and this guy is looking at me, and he said, ‘Please don’t let us die. Please don’t let us die,’” Hagan said.
In a photo McEver shared, a knot at the top of his shoulder is visible from the bullet that entered through his arm still being lodged underneath his skin. McEver said it wasn’t removed because doctors told him it wasn’t life-threatening.
Hagan said she would like to meet McEver. She believes God put her in the right place at the right time to help him after had been shot.
It’s a reminder, if someone is driving aggressively, don’t engage and call the cops.
The accused shooter — 57-year-old Timothy Floyd — is charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting into a vehicle and discharging a firearm from a vehicle, according to Clay County jail records. As of Tuesday, he remained in jail on $700,000.
Recent road rage shootings, arrests in Northeast Florida
There have been at least seven violent road rage incidents in Northeast Florida since March, according to News4JAX records.
March 21: Deja Daniels, 24, was shot and killed while being chased on Welland Road by Terrell Lewis, who was arrested on a charge of murder, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Aug. 16: Rosalind Williams was arrested on a charge of attempted murder after shooting into a car on Stockton Street after both drivers exited Interstate 10, authorities said. The driver was not hit.
Aug. 25: Isaac Partridge was arrested on an attempted murder charge after he shot a driver on Interstate 95 near Philips Highway, JSO said.
Sept. 29: Gary Green was arrested on three counts of attempted murder after he fired a shot into a car on U.S.1 and then into the cruiser of a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputy who eventually stopped him with a PIT maneuver, according to authorities.
Oct. 7: A man was shot while driving on the Arlington Expressway, and the other driver fled, according to police.
Oct. 7: McEver was wounded and his brother was cut by flying glass when the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said Floyd shot into their car on Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park.
Oct. 8: Frank Allison and Williams Hale are both charged with attempted murder after the Nassau County sheriff said they each shot into each other’s vehicle on U.S. 1 near Callahan. A child in each vehicle was wounded.