Man describes fleeing gunman on Interstate 71 after stopping to help him
By Brian Hamrick
Click here for updates on this story
CINCINNATI (WLWT) — A West Side man fled for his life early Sunday morning after stopping to help a motorist with flashing lights on I-71 in Silverton.
Richard Fultz, who owns CDS Land Services, was on the highway at 5 a.m. when he saw flashing hazard lights and decided to stop.
“I’m probably within 75 feet, and I’m like, ‘hey buddy, are you okay buddy’?” Fultz said.
Instead of gratitude, Fultz said he was met with a weapon.
“He comes out from his side of his car on the passenger side, and I see he’s holding an AR-15 in his hand,” Fultz said.
Fultz described the terrifying moment when the man aimed the weapon at him.
“[He] starts to shoulder it and up and on me, gets down on one knee and then gets down in a sniper position on his stomach towards me, and I take off, zigzagging as fast as I can back to the car, thinking I’m about to catch one in the back and then jump in the car and call 911,” Fultz said.
In the 911 call, Fultz told the dispatcher, “I stopped at first and when I got close, he laid down in sniper position like he was going to shoot at me.”
The suspected gunman, 18-year-old Aaron Phelan, appeared in court Monday. He is charged with aggravated menacing and discharging a firearm on prohibited premises. Prosecutors said four shots were fired during the incident.
Phelan’s attorney told the court that he graduated from Monroe High School and was a star football player. However, the explanation for the incident remains unclear.
“When they questioned, he said he admits the shooting and says he was trying to shoot people who were ‘trying to steal his car engine’,” the prosecutor said.
Fultz reflected on the incident, saying, “It’s sad either way. All the way around. I’m glad that he wasn’t injured. And as far as I know, no one else was injured.”
Judge Mallory set Phelan’s bond at $200,000.
Defense attorneys suggested the teen may have been victim of a “possible involuntary intoxication,” though they did not elaborate on what that entailed.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.