Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Tennessee Dad Killed In Christmas Day Road Rage Shooting, Wife Pleads For Answers
Chris Spaunhorst was on his way home with presents for his wife, Stephanie, and their five kids on Christmas Day when police say a black sedan with chrome trim fired multiple shots into his pickup truck, ultimately killing him.
A 37-year-old Tennessee father of five was fatally shot on an interstate on Christmas Day in what police believe was a road rage incident, and his distraught wife is now begging for anyone with information on the attack to come forward.
Multiple gunshots were fired into Christopher Spaunhorst's blue Ford F-150 pickup truck at noon Sunday as he was driving on I-24 West, between the Shelby Ave. and James Robertson Parkway exits. The shooting ultimately killed the Greenbrier man, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
"The gunshots that killed Christopher Spaunhorst came from a black sedan with chrome trim," the police department said in a news release. "The car may have damage; it is unclear whether the car made contact with Spaunhorst’s pickup truck. The motive for the shooting appears to be road rage."
Spaunhorst's truck came to rest along the median wall at James Robertson Parkway after the shooting, while the sedan continued traveling west along on I-24, according to Nashville police. First responders from the Nashville Fire Department alerted to the crash found Spaunhorst suffering from gunshot wounds at the scene and he was taken to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died soon after.
Spaunhorst's wife, Stephanie Spaunhorst, tearfully told NBC-affiliated Nashville station WSMV-TV that her husband of 11 years — who had been her high school sweetheart — "was a great man.
"He was a great daddy, he was a great baseball coach," she added. "He loved everybody."
Stephanie said that her husband was on his way home on Christmas Day with presents when the incident happened.
"I feel like I can't go on without him," the grieving wife told WSMV. "My kids are devastated. His mom is devastated. Like, I don't know how I'm gonna function without him."
Stephanie pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. "If you know just the smallest thing, the smallest detail, if you saw his truck, if you saw anything, reach out and tell somebody," she said on WSMV.
"He deserves justice. We deserve answers. He didn't deserve to die like that," she added. "My kids don't deserve to grow up without a daddy."
Authorities are asking that anyone with info about the black sedan, or the person who fired the shots, call Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Those phoning in to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
A friend of Stephanie has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family, which had raised more than $19,000 by Thursday afternoon.
"Stephanie ... and her children had a devastating loss Christmas Day," the GoFundMe states. "Chris was murdered in an extreme case of road rage. It's left Stephanie without her best friend, soul mate, her children to grow without a dad, a mother to [lose] her son, a team lost their coach and our community lost a good man."
