‘I’m still here:’ Road rage survivor recounts moments of shooting

Toccoa, GA (FOX Carolina) - For the first time, we’re hearing from a mother of two who survived a road rage shooting earlier this year.

Heather Stevanus said the night of January 8th changed her life forever.

The Stevanus family, Heather and her husband Branden along with their two young children, were driving back home to Toccoa, Georgia from Greenville after Monster Jam.

While on I-85, their car was shot into during a road rage incident.

Heather tells FOX Carolina, most of that night is a blur, but she remembers hearing her husband’s voice, telling her to hold on.

“I feel good, I know it could have been a lot worse,” Heather Stevanus said. “I just think that God has a plan for my story and our story, and I think it’s just by the grace of God that I’m still here.”

She was in the hospital until March 8th, when she got officially released. She’s lost feeling in her feet, and motor function in her left hand, and she struggles with memory loss and speech. She continues physical therapy at home and will later join an outpatient rehab facility. Although there is still a long road of recovery ahead, she’s thankful to still be alive.

The person who shot her has never been identified.

“I told him, (Branden) when I was still in rehab and I realized how long it would take for me to get back to work. I just wished that he would be caught and I could have to opportunity to tell him how much he took away from me,” said Stevanus. “I just wish he could know. It was over in a minute for him but it’s not that way for us.”

Investigators believe the suspect vehicle is a black or navy BMW SUV X-5 or X-6, with the model year being around 2017. Investigators said they also believe the SUV was occupied by a man who was heading toward Georgia after the shooting occurred.

If you have any information regarding this shooting, contact the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.

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