PONCHATOULA, La. — At just 17, Katelynn Strate was full of energy and excited to be a mom. Two weeks ago, in an alleged road rage incident near Ponchatoula.

Now, family friend Katie Cancienne Liebert says loved ones are preparing to bury her.

“She was beautiful and full of energy and excited to be a mom.”

Strate and her boyfriend were driving on Old Hoover Road on Aug. 24 when, investigators say, they encountered 54-year-old Berry West. Deputies say after a period of brake-checking and tailgating, West shot Strate in the head.

Doctors delivered her baby two months shy of her due date.

“You can tell how seriously she took her pregnancy by how healthy the baby is.”

Last month, Sheriff Gerald Sticker told WWL’s sister station WBRZ that West believed the teens shot at him first. Investig

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