ORANGE PARK, Fla. – The victim involved in a possible road rage incident Friday night in Clay County is speaking out about his experience and what the Clay County Sheriff’s Office has said about the case.
Two people in Orange Park were hospitalized -- one for treatment of a gunshot wound -- following the shooting incident on Blanding Boulevard near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue. According to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Drew Ford, another person, who had lacerations to their face, was also transported from the scene for treatment.
The driver of the vehicle sped off northbound on Blanding, Ford said, but an exact description was not provided. He said it appeared a white van was shot into, and the person hit by the gunfire was shot in the arm.
Jerry McEver, the victim, said he feels lucky to be alive and also told News4JAX that the detectives on the case told him an arrest was made.
“I was getting up to speed he could not get in front of me, and the minute he couldn’t get in front of me because I evidently didn’t let him, he just pulled out the gun. The way he did it, the way he pulled the gun out, he just looked right over at me and squeezed the trigger, wasn’t even a warning or anything,” McEver 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.
The other person in the car at the time of the accident, who was his brother, was taken to the hospital with cuts to his face.
On the Clay County Inmate Search, News4JAX found a 57-year-old man was arrested Saturday night.
After looking at the mug shot of a man arrested, McEver confirmed he was the person who he believed shot him.
News4JAX reached out to the Sheriff’s Office to verify if this is the man in this case, and are waiting to hear back.
“I seen his face looking at me and looking down the barrel of a black gun,” McEver said. “It looked like I was looking at Satan. I told my wife that way. He looked at me and had no remorse for human life, just didn’t even think twice.”
The 57-year-old was charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting or throwing a missile into a dwelling, vehicle, or building and discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1000 feet of any person -- all of which are felonies.
McEver has come to Jacksonville for work twice a month for the last 20 years.
He said this situation made him change his perspective on returning -- and driving in the future.
“Life is more important than anger, getting mad at somebody and pulling the gun. See something like that again, I’m going to stop and get out of the way. I don’t care what I have to do. I don’t want to put myself through this again. You can’t determine what somebody else is going to do,” McEver said.