Maritza Arias-Galva of Galloway Township took this photo on her 42nd birthday, Sept. 7, four days before she was shot in what police call a road-rage incident. Arias-Galva survived, and described her encounter days later. Read more Courtesy of Maritza Arias-Galva

by Brett Sholtis Published Sept. 13, 2025, 1:16 p.m. ET

Maritza Arias-Galva was on her way home from the grocery store Thursday, eager to celebrate her own belated birthday party with her children on her day off work. She’d bought a small cake, balloons, and all she needed to cook pasta and shrimp, one of her 9-year-old daughter’s favorite meals.

But when the 42-year-old mother of three tried to merge into another lane of traffic on a busy South Jersey road, her day took a horrific turn.

“I put my blinkers on, and h

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