Jun 7, 2016 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – A West Virginia man shot during a lengthy road rage incident on Interstate 79 in Perry Township two weeks ago testified in court Tuesday morning about the incident, although he doesn’t remember much after because of the severity of his injuries.

Ronald Kovach of Fairmont was in the front passenger seat of his friend Ronnie Downey’s car when he was shot in the right arm about 1:15 a.m. May 25.

“I heard two shots and felt like a pinch in my arm,” he said during a preliminary hearing Tuesday. “I pulled my arm in from the window. I told (Downey), ‘I think I just got shot.'”

Kovach, whose arm was in a sling while he testified, said he suffered two shattered bones and lost feeling in his arm and some of his fingers.

“It started bleeding a good amount,” he said.

The man accused of pulling the trigger, Nicholas Lamont Carter, 26, of Clarksburg, W.Va., formerly from Detroit, was a rear passenger of the SUV, the other vehicle involved in the 28-mile road rage dispute that began in Fairmont, W.Va., and culminated with the shooting near the Mt. Morris exit.

Carter faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, illegal possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a permit, receiving stolen property and two counts of reckless endangerment.

District Judge Glenn Bates ordered Carter to stand trial on all of the charges following the preliminary hearing.

Kovach said the situation began near the Fairmont exit after he and Downey got onto the I-79 northbound. He said they were driving with the windows down when they witnessed an SUV driving erratically and “all over the road.”

“They almost ran us off the road,” he said.

Kovach said he had his window down and he thought he saw someone in the SUV give him the middle finger, but “I couldn’t swear to it,” he said.

Kovach said Downey called 911 after they realized Kovach was shot. When asked if he could remember the conversation with police, Kovach said, “Due to the lack of blood, I was lightheaded and I don’t remember if I was unconscious or not.”

Kovach said he and Downey continued to follow the SUV after the shots were fired. When asked how far they continued, he said, “I couldn’t tell you. The whole thing felt like it took forever.”

Patrick Fitch, Carter’s public defender, asked Kovach if he and Downey chased the SUV before shots were fired, to which Kovach responded, “They were going in the same direction as we were so I wouldn’t say we were following them. We were just in traffic.”

According to the criminal complaint, Downey told police he followed the SUV nearly 28 miles trying to get the vehicle’s registration, when a passenger leaned out a window and fired back at his car, striking Kovach.

Carter told police Downey’s vehicle was swerving at the SUV and nearly crashed into them, according to court documents.

Police said Carter threw the handgun out the window following the shooting, but troopers found it by the side of the highway and learned it was reported stolen in West Virginia. Police said Carter was not permitted to possess a weapon because of a previous felony conviction for assault in the commission of a robbery.

Trooper Joseph Popielarcheck, criminal investigator with the state police, testified Tuesday Carter told police he purchased the gun in Clarksburg, W.Va. Popielarcheck said there were three bullet holes in Downey’s vehicle.

Carter is being held at Greene County jail without bond because of the attempted homicide charge and an outstanding warrant from Ohio. Before the preliminary hearing, Carter was arraigned for a charge of arrest prior to requisition that stems from the bench warrant out of Ohio.