TANGIPAHOA PARISH - For the second year in a row, Consumer Affairs ranked Louisiana as the number one state for road rage. One Tangipahoa Parish family who lost a loved one in a road rage incident is calling for accountability from those who choose to be a danger on the roads.

As previously reported, in Aug. 2025, 17-year-old Katelynn Strate was shot by a driver while sitting in the passenger seat of a car with her boyfriend and another teenager. At the time, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office said the driver of Strate's car and the other driver, 54-year-old Barry West, began tailgating and brake-checking each other before West fired a shot and hit Strate.

“I hope she gets justice and he pays for what he did,” Strate's mother, Kristen Blow, said.

Strate was 7 months pregnant with her daughter, Kaylee, who survived the shooting.

“Her momma might not be here, but she’s not gone. She'll always be with her. It shouldn’t be that way, though,” Blow said.

Strate's loved ones said they have witnessed first-hand the aggressive drivers the report details in the data.

“I’ve witnessed road rage myself. More than one vehicle at once, you know? Guns pulled out on me while driving, for what? Where are you trying to get?" Family friend Cici Okeefe said. "What are you trying to get to that’s so important where you put me at risk, let alone everybody else?”

The data came from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Gun Violence Archive. The report said that, in 2023, roughly 58% of all traffic fatalities in Louisiana involved aggressive or careless driving.

Consumer Affairs Media Relations Specialist Lauren Jobe said that Louisiana's rate of fatalities involving aggressive or careless driving is six times higher than the national average.

“Unfortunate to see that there hasn’t been much progress made from last year, and a large part of this is due to it having the highest rate of traffic deaths related to aggressive or careless driving," Jobe said.

The report said Louisiana leads in cases of fatal crashes and deaths connected to road rage. Jobe said Consumer Affairs' data shows that road rage incidents are increasing across the nation.

“At a national level, when it comes to road rage, we do see that the total amount of fatal crashes overall are increasing. They’re up by about 1000, so not by too much when you look at the big picture, but when you take the numbers into consideration, it is safe to say that it’s getting a bit worse,” Jobe said.

Okeefe said the family wants those involved in Strate's death to be held accountable.

“Every day, there’s a missing piece. All we ask for is justice for our missing piece,” she said.

The report can be found here.