Good Samaritan who tried to help alleged road rage victim talks about gun violence
ORLANDO, Fla. - It’s been one week to the day since Orlando police say a woman killed a man in a road rage shooting. However, no arrests have been made yet.
Some people who were on the scene that day told FOX 35 they’re shocked by that. That included a medical professional who had rushed over to help the victim.
Jennifer Garcia and her husband were driving down East Colonial Drive, when they saw a man lying on the ground.
"I had assumed at a distance that it was like a pedestrian versus car. It's a pretty busy road. And so I got to go check on them."
It was not a crash. Mihail Tsvetkov was shot in the face after what police are calling a road rage incident.
"It’s like 8:45 in the morning on a busy road," Garcia said. "I think that’s unacceptable."
Jennifer Garcia is a nurse anesthetist – she has a master’s and a doctorate. She says Tsvetkov had a pulse when she first arrived, but he lost it shortly after.
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She asked FOX 35 to help her get in touch with his family, to tell them this:
"If it was my family member, I would want to know that people were trying to help him, that they weren't alone. And so I hope that gives them some peace."
One of the things the family is having trouble grappling with is the choice to pull the trigger. Tsvetkov’s sister, Daniela Cvetkova, spoke with FOX 35 a few days after the incident.
"You can move your car, you can run over him," she said. "You can shoot him in the arm and the torso anywhere else. Move away. Drive away. Why do you have to pull your gun and shoot him?"
Garcia agrees with that.
And, like the family, she’s eagerly awaiting the results of the investigation – police haven’t charged the shooter with a crime yet.
"Irrespective of what happens going forward, whether she's charged, whether this is found to be legally self-defense – someone still died on our roadways, at like 8:00," said Garcia. "I mean are we okay with this?"
The Orlando Police Department says it’s still investigating the case and has no updates.
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