INDIANAPOLIS — Lindsay Roofe said a night of fun on Sunday turned frightening in a matter of seconds on the south side of Indianapolis.
She said a man in a black SUV behind the car she was in started flashing his lights at them while driving on Interstate 65, near Southport Road on Oct. 1. That's when she said someone in the car with her made a hand gesture toward the SUV.
Next thing she knew, the driver of that SUV pulled up next to them and opened fire.
Roofe was still emotional the next day, with tiny cuts on part of her forehead and fingers.
“I thought I was dead,” Roofe said as she wiped away tears from her eyes.
Roofe was sitting next to the back passenger window. The bullet barely missed her and became lodged just above the driver's seat.
“The moment he shot, we instantly took off and went to the hospital. But I couldn't really see anything because there was so much blood,” Roofe said.
Moments after the shooting, Roofe's mom, Kristina Werner, said she got a phone call no parent wants to receive.
“It was a young boy in a panic, screaming Lindsay had either been shot or they didn't know,” Werner said as she began to cry.
As for how someone could take out a gun and begin shooting at a car full of people, that's something Werner will never be able to understand.
“I know its hard for kids not to react in road rage or whatever this incident was. It could almost cost them their lives, you know, as she’s found out,” Werner said.
And while Roofe’s cuts may fade away over time, the lesson she learned will always stay with her, and she hopes others will learn from it, too.
“Always watch your surroundings — always, no matter where you're at. You could be at the dollar store, but it doesn't matter,” Roofe said.
The family is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that may lead to an arrest.