Calls to 911 reveal more about I-71 shooting, crash that left 1 dead and 2 hospitalized

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5VIEW ALL PHOTOSA deadly shooting on Interstate 71 shut down a stretch of the highway for nearly six hours late Saturday into Sunday morning, leaving one man dead and two others injured and stranding drivers for hours. (WKRC, Provided)Comment on this story0CommentShare storySharetopics: I-71CincinnatiShooting911 callsDispatch audioDrive-byCrashCrime StoppersCINCINNATI (WKRC) – A deadly shooting on Interstate 71 shut down a stretch of the highway for nearly six hours late Saturday into Sunday morning, leaving one man dead and two others injured and stranding drivers for hours.

Cincinnati police have released little information about what led up to the shooting, but dispatch audio and 911 calls provide some details about what witnesses reported.

A deadly shooting on Interstate 71 shut down a stretch of the highway for nearly six hours late Saturday into Sunday morning, leaving one man dead and two others injured and stranding drivers for hours. (WKRC, Provided)

In dispatch audio, a call went out: “Attention District 2, drive-by shooting.” Another report described what appeared to be an exchange of gunfire between vehicles: “Vehicles were chasing each other and shooting at each other.”

After the reported shootout, a 911 caller reported a crash involving an overturned vehicle. “I’m sorry, I just need to get this man some help or woman, whoever it is, some help; they’re upside down. Their vehicle is upside down on the wall,” the caller said.

Police said the crashed vehicle contained 19-year-old Amarion Waver, who was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other people in the car were also hurt, including one person with life-threatening injuries. Both remained in the hospital.

Dispatch audio indicated the highway was shut down as the response unfolded. “I copy, shut down 71, and exit 8,” one transmission said.

The shutdown left drivers stranded for hours between exits 5, Dana Avenue, and 8, Kennedy Avenue. Some drivers took exit ramps the wrong way to escape, while others, including people on a Metro bus, were stuck. “Unfortunately those folks have been trapped on that for three hours,” an officer is heard saying in recorded audio.

As the investigation expanded, police reported finding shell casings for miles. In dispatch audio, one officer asked, “Do we want to start putting up crime scene tape where the casings are?” Another responded, "We have casings almost all the way up until we have the highway shut down. I don’t know if the tape’s viable.”

Police also reported recovering firearms at the scene. “We do have a firearm recovery out here on scene, at least one,” one transmission said. Another followed: “Okay, we’ve got two firearms.”

A deadly shooting on Interstate 71 shut down a stretch of the highway for nearly six hours late Saturday into Sunday morning, leaving one man dead and two others injured and stranding drivers for hours. (WKRC)

Neighborhoods line parts of I-71 where the shooting happened, and residents near the highway said the incident was unsettling.

“It’s really scary,” said Rhonda Dossenbach, who lives next to I-71 along the crime scene area.

Dossenbach said she sometimes spends time on her porch, right near where the shooting took place. “When the weather’s nice, I sometimes come out, you know, read a book or what have you,” she said.

Learning someone died in the incident left her looking for solutions. “It's so sad. It seems like there’s got to be a way to reduce this. I’m not sure what the answer is,” Dossenbach said.

No one is in custody in relation to the shooting, and Cincinnati police said the investigation remains ongoing. Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (513)-352-3040. Callers will remain anonymous and could receive a reward.