NH Woman Allegedly Fired Gun After Road Rage Incident
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - A trio of Manchester, N.H. friends is lucky to be alive, following a road rage incident that took a terrible turn.
Jon Azar was driving his new Subaru around 1am on Sunday morning. Friends Oksana Surduchenko and Mike Barrientos were passengers; all three were headed to a Dunkin Donuts for a late-night coffee.
They were stopped at a red light turning onto South Willow Street when the driver of the car behind them grew impatient.
"She was in a rush because when it first turned green she started honking her horn [and] not stopping," according to Surduchenko.
When that driver could wait no longer, police say she pulled out in front of Azar's car, sideswiping him in the process.
Azar decided to chase after her, to get a look at her license plate.
She refused to stop at first – and when she finally did, the friends wished she hadn't.
That's when police say 25-year-old Jessica McGratty of Concord pulled out her handgun and started shooting.
First, she shot up in the air, and then, allegedly, taking aim at the people whose car she'd hit.
"First when she shot it in the sky, they were like, oh she's flipping us off, she's flipping us off, and I was like, no, that's a gun," says Surduchenko. "And then when she pointed it at me, honestly, I thought that was my last breath."
"Thank god that we're all safe," Azar continues. "When she was repositioning herself to point the firearm right at us, that's when I reacted right away, you know, and put my car in reverse and have all of us duck so none of us would get shot."
The trio got away and police arrested McGratty a short time later. She's currently in jail and will face several charges when she goes before a judge.
