‘Only by the grace of God did they survive’: Pregnant woman shot in Palmetto road crash, officials say

MANATEE COUNTY (WFLA) – A Riverview man faces five counts of attempted first-degree murder after officials said he fired seven shots at an occupied pickup truck on Sunday.

A woman pregnant with twins was shot three times, officials said. The driver of the truck and a nine-year-old girl in the back seat were not injured.

Vincent Steele, 50, made his first appearance before a judge on Monday. Two of his family members, including his daughter, spoke to the judge on his behalf.

“My father was always a good person at heart,” Steele’s daughter told the judge. “I wasn’t present at the incident but when I got the call I was just devastated to hear it and see pictures.”

Officers said Steele rammed the pickup truck while trying to pass it on U.S. Highway 41. The collision caused him to lose control of his vehicle, skid and land in a ditch on the side of the road.

“The driver of the pickup stopped to check his status. Then the driver, our suspect Vincent Steele, got out with a gun and fired multiple shots into the vehicle,” said Randy Warren with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Hillsborough County court records show Steele has been charged with reckless driving in the past.

“We know that the driver of the pickup truck also had a weapon. This was all part of our investigation to find out who pulled a gun. “We know that the driver of the sedan, the suspect, is the one who fired multiple bullets into that car,” Warren said.

8 On Your Side spoke with the minor’s father, who was sitting in the back seat of the car. He sent us the following statement.

“The incident that occurred in Palmetto, Florida on Cinco de Mayo, where Vincent Steele attacked and shot my pregnant ex-wife while my daughter was in the vehicle, is outrageous. I was shocked to hear the details that this perpetrator caused an accident and then attempted to murder my daughter and her mother. It was only by the grace of God that they survived this unprovoked attack. I call on our friends, the law enforcement officers and detectives in Manatee County, to pursue this case with all their might, and on the District Attorney to prosecute this violent criminal to the fullest extent of the law. I call on the people of the state of Florida to step up and help the five victims in this case recover from this tragic event.

I am here to help Florida lawmakers write laws to incarcerate similar offenders who use a firearm in a crime against women and children, and to pass laws that will incarcerate such offenders for life without parole. We must stand up for women, children and the unborn.

Your prayers are welcome and requested. May justice in this case be swift and direct to ensure that this offender is banished from society for life without parole. If anyone deserves to live, it is this coward who took it upon himself to fire a pistol into a vehicle along with a pregnant woman and a young girl. Please ensure that the bail in this case is high enough to prevent this coward from ever seeing the light of day again. Thank you very much,” Travis Nelson wrote.

Steele is expected back in court on Friday, May 10. At that time there will be a full evidentiary hearing as to whether or not he will remain in custody under a detention order.