‘I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy’: Mother of driver shot during road rage incident pleads for answers
TAMPA, Fla. - The mother of an alleged aggressive driver who was shot in the face on I-275 is pleading with anyone who may have information about the shooter to come forward.
Akesha Ingraham’s 22-year-old son Tyeson Jordan is recovering at Bayfront Health after a road rage incident quickly escalated Monday night.
"I don’t know what I would have done if I lost my son, to be honest," she said through tears Thursday. "It could have gone so many different ways, you know?"
The Florida Highway Patrol says Jordan and his girlfriend, Jacqueline Slaughter, were driving southbound on I-275 approaching the Howard Frankland Bridge when they approached a slower-moving vehicle in the left lane. Troopers say Jordan flashed his lights, hit his horn, passed the vehicle and brake-checked the driver once in the left lane.
That’s when troopers say the suspect began following Jordan’s every move. Moments later, Slaughter heard a pop and realized Jordan had been shot in the face.
His mother says she knows her son shouldn’t have driven aggressively, but says it should have never intensified to a shooting.
"There is no reason whatsoever to pull out a gun to shoot anybody, especially since you’re in a moving vehicle," she explained. "Just go about your business."
Florida is no stranger to road rage shootings. In 2017, The Trace, an organization that tracks America’s gun violence, reported that Florida led the country in road rage incidents.
"I’m sure all of us have probably cut someone off in traffic before. But to get to the extent of literally shooting somebody," she said.
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Jordan is currently in stable condition, but after undergoing surgery had to have his jaw wired shut.
"I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy," Ingraham said. "If anyone has heard anything about this or knows of anyone that could have been in the area at the time, please step up and do the right thing."
The Florida Highway Patrol says this is still an active investigation. They believe the vehicle involved may have been a black Toyota Rav 4 with tinted side windows and was being driven by a male.