Wife of man charged in viral I-64 incident speaks
WTKR, TISHAWNA BANKS, NEWPORT NEWS GENERAL DISTRICT COURT, CNN
By Colter Anstaett
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NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia (WTKR) — Video Tishawna Banks took as she was driving down I-64 shows a man clearly pointing a gun at her.
“Oh, f*** no,” Banks exclaims in the video.
Virginia State Police say the man is Eugene Trujillo. He has been arrested and, as of Tuesday, was facing multiple charges.
“I think it’s just being very sensationalized,” Trujillo’s wife, Amy, said.
News 3 spoke to Trujillo’s wife at her home where the car Trujillo was driving in the video was parked out front.
She said her husband was defending himself.
“I just want everyone to know there are two sides to every story,” she said.
When asked if she thinks it’s right for someone to brandish a gun at someone when driving down the interstate, she said yes if they are fearing for their life.
“If someone is using their vehicle in a manner to where someone’s fearing for their life, absolutely,” she said.
News 3 attempted to contact Banks, but the number listed for her business on her business’s Facebook page did not work and the address listed was just a parkway.
According to Banks’ account of the incident in court documents, it started when she, Trujillo, and a third car all merged onto the interstate.
She claims she changed lanes to pass, Trujillo got mad and began trying to merge into her lane, and eventually pulled in front of her “slamming on breaks attempting to get me to run into him four 4 times.”
She said she started recording to get his license plate, then sped off but Trujillo caught up to her and pointed a gun at her.
This is the latest recent high-profile incident on area interstates.
In August a man was shot and killed on I-664, at least the twentieth interstate shooting in Hampton Roads in 2023 at the time.
“In the back of my mind, I think everybody nowadays is thinking about some of these really dangerous situations,” said Peninsula Driving School owner Erick Mays.
Mays encourages people to think defensively when driving.
“Try to keep plenty of space, try not to make last minute decisions and be cutting people off. Be courteous on the roads as best you can,” Mays explained.
News 3 requested an interview with Trujillo in jail but he declined.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Trujillo was being held in jail in Newport News without bond and his wife was working to find him a lawyer.
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