PONCHATOULA, LA – A 54-year-old man who allegedly shot a pregnant 17-year-old girl during a road rage incident is now facing upgraded charges of second-degree murder after the teen died at the hospital earlier in August. While medical professionals were unable to save the teen, who was nearly 7 months pregnant at the time of the shooting, hospital staff did successfully save her child.
In the original press release regarding the August 24th incident, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Barry West in the then-defined non-fatal shooting of Katelynn Strate. According to authorities, the victim was in a Ford Expedition with two unnamed individuals while West was driving a Dodge truck at approximately 9:00 a.m. along North Hoover Road in the Ponchatoula, with both vehicles reportedly tailgating and brake checking the other.
Investigators say during this purported back-and-forth road raging, West fired a single shot at the Ford Expedition, resulting in Strate suffering a gunshot wound to the head. In an attempt to justify his actions when interviewed by police, West reportedly claimed the occupants inside the vehicle fired upon him first and that he was returning fire. However, investigators determined “there were no other shots fired in the incident and there was no weapon in the vehicle the victim was travelling in,” according to the original press release.
Strate was rushed to an area hospital following the incident and was listed in critical condition as of August 25th, with officials confirming the child she was carrying was successfully delivered via an emergency C-section. Sadly, in an updated release from the sheriff’s office, Strate had apparently succumbed to her injuries on August 26th.
West, who was already facing a litany of felony charges stemming from the road rage shooting, has since been hit with upgraded charges of second-degree murder to accompany the three counts of second-degree attempted murder, one count of illegal use of a weapon and a single count of obstruction of justice.
Following West’s initial arrest, Sheriff Gerald Sticker issued a statement emphasizing the “senseless” nature of such an incident, telling the press, “This is a senseless tragedy on Sunday morning with no logical reason for this family to be experiencing this heartbreak right now. The public has to be patient and considerate when driving, at all times, and if there is a concern for your safety, call 911 and report the concern.”
A GoFundMe has been established by the late teen’s family in an effort to help raise funds for the medical costs associated with her newborn’s care while at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as to help cover funeral costs.
In the original press release regarding the August 24th incident, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Barry West in the then-defined non-fatal shooting of Katelynn Strate. According to authorities, the victim was in a Ford Expedition with two unnamed individuals while West was driving a Dodge truck at approximately 9:00 a.m. along North Hoover Road in the Ponchatoula, with both vehicles reportedly tailgating and brake checking the other.
Investigators say during this purported back-and-forth road raging, West fired a single shot at the Ford Expedition, resulting in Strate suffering a gunshot wound to the head. In an attempt to justify his actions when interviewed by police, West reportedly claimed the occupants inside the vehicle fired upon him first and that he was returning fire. However, investigators determined “there were no other shots fired in the incident and there was no weapon in the vehicle the victim was travelling in,” according to the original press release.
Strate was rushed to an area hospital following the incident and was listed in critical condition as of August 25th, with officials confirming the child she was carrying was successfully delivered via an emergency C-section. Sadly, in an updated release from the sheriff’s office, Strate had apparently succumbed to her injuries on August 26th.
West, who was already facing a litany of felony charges stemming from the road rage shooting, has since been hit with upgraded charges of second-degree murder to accompany the three counts of second-degree attempted murder, one count of illegal use of a weapon and a single count of obstruction of justice.
Following West’s initial arrest, Sheriff Gerald Sticker issued a statement emphasizing the “senseless” nature of such an incident, telling the press, “This is a senseless tragedy on Sunday morning with no logical reason for this family to be experiencing this heartbreak right now. The public has to be patient and considerate when driving, at all times, and if there is a concern for your safety, call 911 and report the concern.”
A GoFundMe has been established by the late teen’s family in an effort to help raise funds for the medical costs associated with her newborn’s care while at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as to help cover funeral costs.
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Comments
2025-09-02T14:08-0400 | Comment by: Paul
Where are the "hate" crime charges? If the colors were reversed, the NAACP or the SPLC would be all over this.
2025-09-02T21:32-0400 | Comment by: James
Murder = DEATH PENALTY!