An 18-year-old man is dead, and his girlfriend is begging for the person responsible to turn themselves in after a violent road rage incident in northwest Indiana on Thursday night.
According to Hammond police, 18-year-old Jorge Roman of East Chicago was shot during an altercation between two vehicles at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday. Witnesses say that a person in one of the vehicles opened fire, striking Roman and another person in his car.
Roman was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, and the gunman fled the scene.
On Friday, Roman’s girlfriend Arianah Cruz held a press conference in Indiana, asking for the person responsible for the shooting to come forward.
“He was a good person. He didn’t deserve to die,” she said. “He did nothing wrong!”
Cruz, who has a 6-month-old child with Roman, said that the man was driving to a Fourth of July party when the incident took place.
“He was not in gangs, he did not like any of that,” she said. “They took him away from us and we will never get him back.”
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A passenger in Roman’s car was also injured, and Hammond police say they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
“We don’t really have the particulars about why this car engaged with the victim’s car,” Lt. Steve Kellogg said. ‘All we know is it pulled up next to it and fired a shot.”
The vehicle Roman was riding in crossed into Illinois before crashing into a home, police said.
As she struggles to deal with the sudden death of her boyfriend, Cruz said that she doesn’t wish ill upon the shooter, but that she wants them to turn themselves in to face justice.
“I don’t this upon anybody. Even the people who took his life,” she said. “I know what it’s like. I don’t want anyone to endure this pain. He’s gone and he’s never coming back.
Hammond police believe the gunman was driving a small or midsized white car, with Kia as a possible manufacturer. They are encouraging anyone with information on the incident to contact authorities.
