Daniel Schneebeerger: Florida rig driver 'grateful to be alive' as bullet narrowly misses him and hits metal door
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA: Daniel Schneebeerger, a tractor-trailer driver by profession, had a lucky escape in Hollywood, Florida. Although he is 'grateful to be alive,' he is no longer confident that his work is safe.
He was shot on Friday, March 10, but the bullets missed him and struck his car's metal door. The driver that was pursuing him opened fire on his vehicle and then sped off.
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'If you look at that angle, it would have shot me'
After the incident, Florida Highway Patrol troopers have launched a search operation for a shooter in a black or purple Dodge Challenger who targeted Schneebeerger on Friday while he was driving a big white rig in Hollywood.
Schneebeerger had a big trip planned on Saturday, March 11, and on Friday he was getting the rig washed when the incident unfolded. “If you look at that angle, it would have shot me,” Schneebeerger said according to Local 10. He was referring to a bullet that almost made it through the metal door of the driver’s side as the metal pieces and broken glass lay scattered inside.
The shooting took place at about 3 pm on the northbound entrance ramp to Interstate 95, at Hollywood Boulevard, according to the report. However, Schneebeerger was unaware that someone had shot at his vehicle, apparently having him as his aim. It was after he smelled the gunpowder that he realized something was wrong.
'I thought it was a rock'
"I was starting to drive and I heard a noise. I thought it was, honestly at first, a rock or something because a window shattered." He added, "I don't know, I heard a pop, I honestly saw something just hit my truck really hard and shuttered the window."
'I started smelling something'
Not realizing what had happened, Schneebeerger said, “I started to go after the people until I started smelling something and you could tell it was a different kind of smoke." Schneebeerger said he has been a truck driver since 2015 and "never ever in his life" anything like this has happened. "I have seen a lot of drivers cutting into drivers but not anything like this."
'I don't want to be shot out there'
Schneebeerger said the Dodge Challenger left the scene which led him to call the police. “I don’t want to be shot out there, especially being away from my family. I’ve had other things happen to me before in my life and being far away is hard,” he said.
FHP troopers are asking anyone with information about the case to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
