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Putnam County woman reports horrific incident of road rage

Florida. — The woman who was seriously injured in a traffic-rage-fueled shooting in Putnam County has been released from the hospital and has spoken out about the life-changing event.

Ashlie Cochran said she was on Highway 17 near the Dollar General store in Paloma Park on May 31 when she noticed another driver following her closely. Police identified him as 56-year-old Keith Shaulis.

“I thought I was doing the right thing when I stopped to let him pass. I never thought he would stop and shoot me,” Cochran said.

She said the harassment continued until she tried to turn off the highway onto Lake Como Drive.

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“I turned right and he came really close to me and almost hit me, then he turned before I could. So I had to wait until he finished so I could turn,” Cochran said.

Cochran said when both cars were on Lake Como Drive, Shaulis began driving slowly in front of her, tapping the brakes.

“I felt like he was trying to provoke an incident and escalate the problem,” she said.

Cochran eventually overtook Shaulis, but began to pursue from behind.

So she, her husband and their 9-year-old son pulled off the road. Cochran said the driver stopped next to her SUV when she opened the door.

56-year-old Keith Shaulis was arrested in connection with a DUI incident in Putnam County. (Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)

“When I turned my legs and my face, all I could see was the muzzle of the gun. I had one foot on the ground, my door was open,” she said.

She didn’t have a chance to say anything before the driver started shooting.

“At this point, my husband had gotten out of the passenger door and had to throw himself on the ground because a bullet had been fired in his direction as well. He could lie on the ground and see the first three letters of his license plate,” Cochran said.

Cochran was seriously injured by a gunshot wound to the stomach. She was flown to the hospital by helicopter, where doctors performed emergency surgery to remove parts of her small intestine that had been damaged by the bullet.

The same bullet penetrated her pelvic bone, where it remains, and caused nerve damage in her leg.

“I can only feel 50% of my leg, so it’s hard for me to walk,” she said. “As I left in the ambulance and walked away from my husband and son, I thought that would be the last time I would see them.”

Her son was not hit because he was hiding on the ground when the shots were fired.

“Somehow the bullets missed him,” she said.

According to his arrest report, Shaulis parked his car at a friend’s house in Crescent City. When investigators found and searched the car, they said they found shell casings and damage that indicated a gun had been fired from the vehicle.

Tom Hackney, crime and safety analyst at News4JAX, called the incident an extreme case of road rage.

“It’s scary to think about what could have happened. It’s scary to think about what actually happened, and it’s scary to think that these types of people sometimes travel the same roads that we do,” Hackney said.

Aggressive driving accounts for 66% of all traffic fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 37% of aggressive driving incidents involve the use of a firearm.

Shaulis remains in jail without bail on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault and unlawful use of a firearm.

Hackney said prosecutors will likely review the case to decide whether the charge should be upgraded to attempted murder.

“When you hear everything that actually happened that day, you have to scratch your head a little bit because it really does sound like an attempted murder,” Hackney said. “It was definitely an attempted murder on her life. This woman will forever be marked by what happened that day.”

Cochran’s family started a GoFundMe campaign to help with financial expenses during this time.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.