ORLANDO, Fla. – Dexter Bernard says he's just grateful to be alive.
Bernard and his 17-year-old niece Lashey Bernard were returning home to Miami-Dade County on Saturday morning after spending Thanksgiving with family in Ocala when Bernard said another car suddenly sped up and its driver fired nearly dozen shots at their car.
"That was the most scariest event ever in my life," Bernard told Local News 10 on Monday.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested Kwanza Donald, 33, of Orlando, on Sunday. Troopers said road rage was the motive in the shooting along Florida's Turnpike near Oakland. Donald faces two counts of attempted murder and is currently being held without bond at the Lake County jail.
Bernard said the incident started about 10 a.m. when he put his signal on and his Chevrolet Impala switched lanes, passing another car and Donald's gray Toyota Camry.
"Next thing you know, [Donald] gets back in the farther lane, and my car is just riddled with bullets from the left side," Bernard said. "I had no clue was going on until I heard my little niece scream."
Bernard said she cried out: "Something burning me!"
Bernard pulled over and realized he had been wounded in the back and Lashey had been hit in the shoulder. Troopers said the victims weren't directly hit by the bullets but were hurt by bullet fragments and other debris.
Both Bernard and Lashey were treated for minor injuries and were released this weekend from Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Bernard said the hardest part was calling his mother to her what happened.
"I had an older brother who was taken by a gun," Bernard said. "And when I heard my mother cry, the screams, I could imagine, it brought back memories for her. That's why I really didn't want to call her, but she needed to know."
After he was arrested, Donald said he shot at Bernard's car in self-defense, but offered no evidence to back up his claim, troopers said.
Bernard is still shaken after the shooting and says that he never wants to drive his car again. His brother plans to come to Central Florida and take him back to the Miami area.
Days later, Bernard said he was baffled at how the incident escalated so quickly.
"Road rage is when you make contact with people. Arguments and stuff like that," he said. "That never happened. He never saw my face, and I never saw his face."