Investigators need witnesses to come forward in I-80 shooting
PINOLE, Calif. (KGO) -- The California Highway Patrol is asking for possible witnesses to come forward after a deadly shooting happened on Interstate 80 over the weekend. This is now the seventh such shooting on that busy stretch of Bay Area freeway since November.
All of these shootings have occurred in the dark so there have been no suspect vehicle descriptions. Now the CHP is asking for any bit of information it can get from the public.
This latest highway shooting happened early Saturday morning, just after 1 a.m. On Monday, the CHP identified 39-year-old Leslie Graham of El Sobrante as the man who was killed. He was driving a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound on I-80 when somebody pulled alongside and opened fire.
I-80 Fatal freeway shooting, crash in Richmond creates panic for drivers
"The Jeep subsequently drifted across the roadway, over and down the embankment just east of Hilltop Road," CHP Officer Daniel Hill said.
Graham was ejected and died at the scene. There have been seven shootings on this stretch of 80 between Pinole and Berkeley since November. Two have been fatal.
Commuter Dave Escobosa said, "Yeah, that's kind of scary, actually. You know, stray bullets."
So far, two cars have been struck by stray bullets. Several people have been wounded including a toddler.
Commuter Louise Huttinger said, "There's certain things you can do to when you're driving, safety-wise, to take precautions and measures and those are things you can't prepare for."
But the CHP says these are not random shootings.
"This last victim had strong ties to North Richmond gangs. That may be the case. What we can tell with relative certainty is that each of these incidents was a targeted incident," Hill said.
The CHP is asking for any information that could help end these shootings.
