Pregnant girl, 17, left brain dead after road rage attack is kept on life support to deliver her baby
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2025 11:46 pm
- Katelynn Strate2.jpeg (47.72 KiB) Viewed 73 times
PONCHATOULA, LOUISIANA - A teenage girl who was shot in the head [ by Barry West ] during a road rage incident was kept on life support as a medical team delivered her baby via C-section after the tragedy.
Katelynn Strate, 17, was attacked on Sunday morning as she and her boyfriend were driving to his mother's house in Louisiana.
On the drive, the pair encountered another motorist driving in the same direction, and both cars began tailgating and brake checking one another, according to Nola.com.
The driver of the second car, identified as 54-year-old Barry West, approached Strate and her boyfriend, firing a gun through the car which struck the 17-year-old, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
The bullet was lodged in her skull and she was rushed to hospital, where she was placed on life support as her medical team attempted to save her baby.
The baby, a little girl, was delivered at seven months gestation - two months early - weighing three pounds, 11 ounces and in otherwise perfect health.
Strate will not recover from her injuries, her devastated loved ones said. Her family was expected to take her off life support today and preparations are underway for her funeral.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -born.html