What was supposed to be a fun trip to Las Vegas instead turned into a deadly freeway shooting for a Lake Elsinore man and the woman riding along with him.
Jeff Boyajian, 58, was killed in what police are calling a road rage shooting on Interstate 15 while on his way to Las Vegas to celebrate his birthday.
A woman who was riding passenger in his car gave new insight Wednesday into the terrifying encounter.
"He was very outgoing and friendly," Lynn said, who wished not to be identified for fear for her safety. "He liked to talk to anybody. He was a real people person."
Lynn said her good friend Jeff worked in the casino industry.
On Aug. 5, Lynn and Boyajian were heading to Las Vegas to visit his mom and also celebrate his birthday when Lynn said a white van started aggressively tailgating them on Interstate 15.
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"All of a sudden it pulled up on the driver side next to us and was pointing fingers at us like he was going to shoot us," she said.
She said the van dropped back, and moments later sped up beside their car again near Blue Diamond Road exit, a few miles south of the Las Vegas Strip. That's when someone opened fire.
"All you could hear was bang bang bang and glass flying everywhere," she said. "I don't know how, but some way he managed to pull the vehicle over to the shoulder and put it in park."
Lynn said she found his phone to try to call for help.
"I couldn't unlock it. He picked up and then he's like, 'I think you're going to have to call.' And then dropped and that was that. He was gone," she said.
Boyajian died just a few hours shy of his 59th birthday. He died in the same area a little south of the Vegas strip where Lynn says his family also suffered a previous tragedy.
"His father had been in an accident on that same stretch of road two years ago that took his life, from a drunken driver hitting him," she said.
Lynn says it's unthinkable that Boyajian would also be killed on Interstate 15.
Las Vegas Metro police are still trying to identify the gunman.
Investigators released a public service announcement and video of the van tailgating Boyajian hoping for more information. They were asking anyone who may have been on that stretch of the interstate between 6 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. to report anything they saw.
Lynn says she saw at least two people inside of the white van, and she's hoping the gunman is caught sooner than later.
"He's going to get upset. It's going to happen again," she said.
Lynn only suffered minor injuries from the glass.
Anyone with information about the case should call police at 702-828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 to remain anonymous.
