A Memphis mother has tragically died, and her child is fighting for their life after they were allegedly chased for four miles by a trucker who later crashed into their family car. The incident, which occurred on Sunday around 4 p.m., began as a highway dispute and culminated in violence on the 100 block of Emmaus Way, as reported by CBS affiliate WREG.
“Two vehicles were side-by-side. One of them cut the other one off what we could get so far, and the pickup began following the car,” Hardin County Sheriff Johnny Alexander explained. “They tried to get home or get a residence, and that’s when the incident occurred.”
The victim, Zoe Johnson, 24, was driving with her fiancé and two daughters along Highway 64 just east of Savannah when the truck began tailing them. According to Alexander, the truck followed their vehicle to Emmaus Way, where the driver opened fire, fatally wounding Johnson and injuring one of her daughters.
Police stated that Johnson, sitting in the front passenger seat, was shot in the back, while her daughter was shot in the arm. “When officers arrived, they found two victims that had been injured by a gunshot. They did medical care on them until EMS arrived and got them out of the scene,” Sheriff Alexander told CBS affiliate WBBJ-TV.
“During the investigation, we ended up finding a suspect that had fired the shots into the vehicle.” Within three hours, officers apprehended 43-year-old Clint Newton, who was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. “We picked him up on the road,” Sheriff Alexander said.
“We got some information from doing a canvas of the neighborhood and got some information about the vehicle, and that’s when we found the vehicle, stopped him, and took him into custody.” Following the tragedy, family members set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral and medical expenses.
“They did not have any kind of insurance whatsoever, and this family will need all the help and support that you can give. If you can’t give, pray for this family because they will need it,” the fundraiser description read. “These children will have to grow up without their mother,” it continued. As of Tuesday, the campaign had raised $13,283, surpassing their $10,000 goal.
