Louisville woman shot in the head on I-65 told family 'a bad man' tried to kill her

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville mother is in serious condition after she was shot along Interstate 65, and her family is pleading for answers.

Louisville Metro Police said officers were called around 3:47 a.m. Thursday to a reported vehicle collision near I-65 South at Grade Lane. When they arrived, they found 28-year-old Juanita Barnett suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to UofL Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.

Family members said Barnett's car was riddled with bullets as she tried to get away from another driver. Her mother, Robin Moy, said Barnett later described a man chasing her down the interstate.

"Like bits and pieces are coming back to her slowly," Moy said. "Today, she said she was in the car. It was a bad man. She said 'It was a bad man trying to kill me, mama.'"

Moy, who was surrounded by grandchildren as she spoke from a wheelchair, said doctors removed a bullet from Barnett's brain but couldn't remove bone fragments that remain too risky to touch.

"She said another man stopped and helped her," Moy said. "I just want to thank whoever that was. You saved my daughter's life."

Barnett's sister, Deja, said the family is still hurting but holding onto hope.

"I was in shock," she said. "I didn't expect it to be her at all."

The shooting forced police to shut down all lanes of I-65 South between Grade Lane and Crittenden Drive for several hours. Moy believes the shooting may have been the result of road rage.

"Somebody had to have seen something," she said. "Somebody had to have seen her driving erratically, trying to get away from this car on I-65."

The case is being investigated by LMPD's Non-Fatal Shooting Unit.

If you have any information about the shooting or suspect, you're asked to call LMPD's anonymous Crime Tip Line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department's Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.