‘It makes me hug the kids a little tighter’: Eyewitness recounts fiery I-295 crash that killed Henrico man

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — An eyewitness said she's holding her children a little tighter following a deadly, fiery crash on Interstate 295 in Hanover County on Tuesday.

"The flames … it looked like the entire median had been burned," that eyewitness, Caitlyn Gayle, told 8News. "All we could see were just pieces of the car."

Virginia State Police said that, around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23, someone fired shots at a white Ford pickup truck on I-295 southbound near Pole Green Road. Moments later, the truck ran off the road, crashed and caught fire.

"It was really hard to keep your eyes off of it, but it was horrible … horrible," Gayle said.

The driver, 27-year-old Hunter Davis of Henrico, died at the scene, according to police.

"When you see something like that and the vehicle as damaged and mangled as it was, I didn’t have to ask to know that, unfortunately, whoever was in there was not okay," Gayle said.

Video from a Sept. 23 crash and vehicle fire along I-295 in Hanover County. (Video: Kayla Bonfiglio)

Parts of the highway were blocked off for nearly ten hours while police investigated.

The shooter has not been identified as of the time of reporting.

"It’s crazy that someone was shooting someone else in a moving vehicle for any reason," Gayle said. "It makes me hug the kids a little tighter, and it makes me a little bit more cautious on the road."

Virginia State Police is asking anyone who witnessed the crash or has additional information to contact investigators.