ST. LOUIS (KMOX)--"I could have been dead today." The words of a Jefferson County man who was shot at while driving on Interstate 70 after dropping his newly married daughter and new son-in-law at Lambert Airport so the newlyweds could go on their honeymoon. It happened early Sunday morning around 4:30 when John Dickmann of Antonia thought he saw and heard fireworks hitting his car but it was actually bullets.
"I heard something rattle under the hood," Dickmann said. "I thought maybe a bottle rocket or something. I looked in the rear view mirror of the car and noticed my car was smoking so I pulled off at Jennings Station Road. I realized the power steering was not working and the brakes were not working very well at all. So I called the cops. [They] looked at the car and said you've got a bullet hole here so it was definitely not a firework."
At least one bullet entered his hood and went into the engine when he passed the Lucas and Hunt overpass going east on I-70. The car is in the shop and it is not drivable.
A stray bullet on I-70 made John Dickmann's car inoperable.John Dickmann
"I'm fine," Dickmann said. "It's obviously aggravating but the Lord is good. He took care of me. What's there to get worked up about?"
When officers arrived to conduct their investigation they offered Mr. Dickmann some advice: Don't drive on I-70 at night. "We should be able to drive on the roads without getting shot at and without tearing up our vehicles with all of the potholes that are all over the city," Dickmann said. "It's kind of ridiculous."
Dickmann is thankful the newlyweds were not in the car when he was shot at. "I'm glad I got them to the airport so they didn't miss their flight."
Update 11/6/2023 @ 9:05 AM--St. Louis County Police Department says they have connected the bullet that hit John Dickmann's car to a shooting on Interstate 70 around the same time.
St. Louis County Police released this statement to KMOX: "An area police agency contacted St. Louis County Police relative to a shooting investigation they were conducting at Barnes Hospital. The victim in this shooting, an adult male, stated he was westbound on Interstate 70 passing Jennings Station Road when a silver Cadillac approached his vehicle from behind. The Cadillac pulled next to him and someone began shooting at him, breaking out his driver's side window and striking him in the arms. The adult male then fired back at the Cadillac but lost him when he could no longer keep up. The driver of this vehicle was treated for non life threatening injuries."
Police believe Dickmann's car was likely struck by gunfire exchanged between the two vehicles. No suspects are known by police at this time.
