LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — The search continues for a man involved in a shooting on I-75 on Saturday. Laurel County authorities said Joseph A. Couch is a suspect.
An SUV registered to Couch was found off exit 49 on I-75 Saturday night, with an AR rifle recovered near the vehicle on Sunday afternoon, police said. A gunman shot into nine vehicles, with five people said to have been shot with serious injuries.
Christina DiNoto was driving home from Rochester, New York to Houston with a passenger when she said she heard what sounded like a loud bang when passing through London, Kentucky. When DiNoto stopped in Knoxville, she said she noticed damage to her car.
"We were driving and all of a sudden we just heard like a loud, almost like an explosion," DiNoto said.
DiNoto and her friend Jeremy were driving down I-75 Saturday night when she said her car was struck by what she described as a "ricochet from the bullets."
"I have quite a bit of experience with shooting and it definitely sounded loud like a gunshot to me," DiNoto said.
She also said she saw the car next to her pull over and heard a loud noise coming from the passenger side of her car.
"If I had to guess what happened, I would think that the white truck next to me got hit and that's why he pulled over and the bullet ricocheted and hit my vehicle," DiNoto said. "It's very scary. Like last night going to bed, I was like, 'oh my God we could have, you know, died or something.'"
DiNoto drives a Toyota 4Runner and said she noticed the damage when she got to Knoxville on Saturday night.
"Right here it's a pretty big like divot ... I mean, like the size of my finger. And these are thick, thick rims and this would not happen from, you know, a rock or something like that," DiNoto said. "The paint is chipped off right here right above the tire. So there's the tire and then there's the paint chip and then back here, there's another (chip), these weren't here before."
DiNoto said she thinks it was divine intervention that she and her passenger were both unhurt.
"Just count your blessings and make sure, you know, that you're always aware of your surroundings and don't take anything for granted," DiNoto said. "Even if you're just out and about, it's a crazy world we live in."
DiNoto said she spoke to the Kentucky State Police to report the damage and is awaiting their response.
She said the incident has given her a new perspective on life.
"When I leave home, everybody says, 'Oh safe travel, drive safe'," DiNoto said. "You're like, you're just driving no big deal, but, you know, it put everything in perspective."
The Laurel County Sheriff's Department reports that deputies were dispatched to the scene of the shooting on I-75 at exit 49 around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The scene of the shooting was secured overnight and an active search and continued investigation took place at daybreak on Sunday morning.