A 34-year-old De Soto-area woman driving with her window down on an unseasonably warm night Monday (Jan. 22) west of Festus was shot with an object, possibly a pellet, which lodged behind her left eye. The incident happened about 10:30 p.m., said Sgt. Brian Taylor of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman was released after examination and treatment at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City, but doctors decided not to remove the pellet at this time, Taylor said.
“They have not removed it yet because of swelling,” he said today (Jan. 26). “I don’t know their future plans, but they have not removed it yet. She’s stable, but the exact condition of her eye, we don’t know.”
According to the report, the victim was driving home from work in a 1997 Dodge Dakota pickup, headed north on Victoria Road near Holly Hills Terrace.
“She turned from Hwy. 67 north on Victoria,” Taylor said. “As she approached a stop sign at Holly Hills Terrace, another vehicle traveling the opposite direction on Victoria passed her southbound. Once it passed, she noticed a slight pain on the side of her face and had facial bleeding. Unsure of what happened, she initially thought debris hit her.”
Her vision was immediately impaired, he said.
“She contacted a family member to come assist her because she was having trouble seeing,” Taylor said.
The family member drove her to Mercy Hospital Jefferson.
“Once at the hospital, they determined a small object – possibly a pellet – had entered just below her left eye and had gotten lodged behind her left eye,” Taylor said.
He said there are no suspects and the investigation is ongoing. The victim was not able to provide a description of the other vehicle.
“We’re not even sure if (someone from the other vehicle) did it,” Taylor said.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515.