A 17-YEAR-OLD girl was kept on life support in a desperate bid to save her baby after being shot in the head in a road rage attack.
Katelynn Strate tragically died after the shooting, which happened on Sunday morning as she and her boyfriend were driving to his mum’s house in Louisiana.
Katelynn Strate, 17, was shot in the head in a ‘road rage incident’
Her killer, 54-year-old Barry West, has been charged with four counts of attempted second-degree murder
Katelynn and her boyfriend at their unborn baby’s gender reveal party
The couple’s car and another travelling in the same direction began tailgating and brake-checking each other, according to local outlet Nola.com.
The driver of the second car – identified as 54-year-old Barry West – then began firing into the Ford Expedition.
Katelynn, who was seven months pregnant, was struck in the head as she sat in the front passenger seat.
She was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support while doctors performed an emergency C-section.
The baby is being monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Despite the little girl weighing just three pounds and 11 ounces, she is in stable condition, authorities said.
Katelynn could not recover from her injuries, her heartbroken family earlier revealed.
The family took her off life support soon after and preparations are underway for her funeral.
“[Her] mother is devastated,” family friend Katie Cancienne told Nola.com.
“She just lost her baby, and now she’s a grandmother.”
Katie shared a GoFundMe appeal that reads: “We are raising funds in memory of Katelynn Strate, age 17 who tragically lost her life in a road rage incident yesterday morning in Ponchatoula Louisiana while 27 weeks pregnant.
“Her baby survived, and we are now seeking help to cover funeral expenses for Katelynn, medical bills, and the essential baby items needed by her grandmother, who will now be caring for the baby.”
Barry West was jailed in Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office after being hit with four counts of attempted second-degree murder, along with charges of illegal weapon use and obstruction of justice, the sheriff’s office revealed on Monday.
Sheriff Gerald Sticker said: “This is a senseless tragedy… with no logical reason for this family to be experiencing this heartbreak right now.”
It comes as a young woman tragically died after suffering a severe allergic reaction following a CT scan.
Leticia Paul, 22, had a history of kidney stones and was undergoing the scan as part of a routine check at the Alto Vale hospital in Rio do Sul, Brazil.
She suffered a serious reaction after receiving a contrast agent – a special dye used in CT and MRI scans to make organs and tissues more visible on medical images.
The couple celebrated that they were having a girl