ST. LOUIS — During their normal commute Monday morning, Gina Puzzo and Deon Rush hit the road from St. Louis into Illinois.
But this time, something out of the ordinary happened.
"It was an extremely loud pop," Rush said. "We came across 70 going eastbound, passing the overpass at Goodfellow and we were struck by a stray bullet. So, we looked up and saw a huge hole in our van."
And when they looked down, there were pieces of glass.
"She was bleeding on her arm and we had glass all over us, we pulled over and called the cops and they determined it was a bullet," Rush said.
They say police told them officers had just left the scene of a shooting.
"They were down the street, five minutes away. They said it could've came from there or the overpass that we passed," Puzzo said.
This stretch of interstate is monitored by both St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
They teamed up after a string of incidents along I-70.
A spokesperson for MSHP said highway patrol sometimes helps with enforcement projects to help alleviate criminal activity.
The spokesperson said it's not a full-time project and MSHP schedules it periodically through the weeks and months to help the city.
Taking measures into their own hands, Puzzo and Rush say they are steering clear.
"We now go 15 minutes out of the way because we don't want to drive on I-70 anymore," Rush said.
They warn others to do the same.
"Protect yourself, be aware, head on a swivel. People shouldn't have to worry going to work," Rush said.
For Puzzo, she's also worried this will hurt her business since she's the owner of her trucking company.
She now has to replace a new windshield.
"I just put this on a brand new route, the truck was brand new. Again, there is another expense just because of a bullet," Puzzo said.
She said this came at an already expensive time to run her business, since her vans rely heavily on gas and diesel.
However, both are feeling grateful they are OK.
"I mean it’s heartbreaking, we had a bullet and almost took our lives," Puzzo adds.