Jayson Bono and Dawn Pummill say they can’t stop thinking about 3-year-old Preslie. Just over a week ago, the 3-year-old was shot in the head during a road-rage incident near the 1000 block of Southeast Bywood Avenue in Port St. Lucie.
The scene unfolded at the foot of their driveway, where the road rage victims parked their truck.
“We fell asleep on the couch together and heard a loud bang on the door,” said Bono. “He (the person banging on the door) just started yelling 'call 911.' ”
Bono called 911 and Pummill rendered first aid to the little girl, by grabbing a towel and applying pressure to her gunshot wound in the head.
“It was a week ago, yeah,” said Pummill, clearly still distraught. She said she checks the news all day in hopes the person is caught. Nightmares plague her sleep.
“It was an awful thing to go through at any angle,” remarked Bono.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be a kid,” said Pummill. “I walked around the corner and there was this little girl just laying in the car in the back seat, and she’s just bleeding everywhere. It was terrifying, like what do you do?”
She said at first she lost it, cried for a second, and then realized she needed to pull it together for the girl. Pummill applied pressure on her head until the police and ambulance showed up. “I didn’t want her to die. Just hold on,” she said.
Pummill now has a message for everyone. “Tell your people you love them. Road rage is crazy,” she said as she held back tears. “That little girl might die. For what? Because somebody was behind the wheel of the car.”
The married couple said they are talking to WPTV for one reason and one reason only: To bring the person responsible forward.
“Let us know you have remorse that you didn’t know there was a child in the car. I have to believe that because I can’t believe anyone would shoot a child on purpose,” she said.
“How do you live with the aftermath of that?” asked Bono
Port St. Lucie Police say there is a considerable cash reward for information leading to an arrest. You can remain anonymous by calling Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 800.273.TIPS.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives is also offering a reward of $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible.