UPDATED 6/27/2026
At 2:38 p.m. on Friday, June 19, Indiana State Police troopers responded to a reported shooting on northbound Interstate 65 near the 27-mile marker, a few miles south of Scottsburg in Scott County.
The initial call was received by Scott County Dispatch. Officers with the Scottsburg Police Department, deputies with the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, and Indiana State Police troopers arrived on scene within minutes, according to ISP Sgt. Carey Huls.
The investigation indicates the shooting stemmed from an apparent road rage incident, and all parties involved remained at the scene following the event.
Investigators determined that the male driver of a white 2025 Mazda SUV had been shot by the driver of a gray 2026 Ford Maverick truck after both vehicles came to a stop in the left lane of the roadway.
The driver who was shot, Johnathon D. Wellesley of Bella Vista, Arkansas, was transported by Scott County EMS to Norton Scott Hospital before being flown to the University of Louisville Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Maverick,, James Camden Dowdell, 28, of Shelbyville, KY, was arrested by ISP.
ISP Detective Sgt. Steve Peyton interviewed Dowdell at the Sellersburg state police post.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Dowdell said that he left his home in Shelbyville, KY sometime after 1:30 PM, headed north on I-65 toward Noblesville for a friend’s wedding. While driving in the left lane, he found himself behind a white SUV. He says he was following his GPS and not paying close attention to the other driver, and he does not know what might have provoked the other driver.
He reported that the SUV driver began acting aggressively, first spraying windshield washer fluid that hit Dowdell’s windshield, then brake checking him. Dowdell said he had to brake hard to avoid a collision.
To get away from the aggressive behavior, Dowdell moved into the right lane and passed the SUV. Shortly afterward, traffic slowed to a stop due to construction south of Scottsburg.
While stopped, Dowdell says the SUV driver threw an object at his truck, striking it somewhere on the rear or bed area. Dowdell could not identify the object, though he thought it might have been a can.
After the object hit his truck, Dowdell exited his vehicle and walked back to the SUV, striking the driver side mirror with his right hand. He says he did not speak to the driver and did not notice there was a female passenger inside until later. He then returned to his own vehicle and sat back in the driver’s seat.
Dowdell states he did not see the SUV driver get out, but within moments, the driver was at Dowdell’s driver side window, repeatedly striking it four or five times with his fist and pulling on the door handle as if trying to open the door. Dowdell said he became scared and reached into his glove box for his firearm, a Taurus GZC 9mm handgun stored in a holster.
Dowdell stated he held the gun close to his chest and rolled the window down. He hoped the sight of the gun would make the man stop. Instead, he says the man told him “I f—-ing dare you,” and again moved his hand toward the open window, according to the court document.
Dowdell said he does not clearly recall the exact motion, or which hand the man used but describes it as reaching toward the window.
Feeling afraid and unsure of what the man intended to do, Dowdell fired one shot. He says he did not aim precisely, only pointed generally in the man’s direction. The shot caused the man to stumble backward and fall onto the grass beside the roadway, the probable cause read.
Dowdell said he immediately called 911,
The Kentucky man was booked in to the to the Scott County Jail at 5:12 p.m. facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, and battery with a deadly weapon attempted murder.
He remains in custody on a $500,000 full cash bond.