ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis woman survived after being shot while driving.  

Arnetta Thurman’s fight does not end there. She faced rejection when she attempted to rent another car. 

With no way to get to work, her future was uncertain. Her circumstances, however, changed when someone stepped in to help.

Thurman is getting a second chance at life. Only two months ago, police say she was shot in the face as she merged onto Interstate 70 in north St. Louis on her way home from work.

“I’m so happy to be alive,” Thurman expressed. “Police believe she wasn’t the intended target of the shooting. When I got shot in my face, I thought I was going to die.”
  

The rental car Thurman was driving that day was riddled with bullets and reportedly  after she recovered from her injuries, she tried to rent a car again but was denied.  

Rental car companies have a policy that bans customers from renting again if they’ve been involved in an act of violence. 

Thurman was now  stranded, with no transportation. But that was when Dr. Marty Casey, the founder of the un-gun institute, took action.

“Just hearing what she was dealing with. I knew I had to help,” Casey said.
 
Casey started a fundraiser and called on the community to help and raise enough money to hand over the keys to a Chevy Cruze to Thurman.
 
“I asked myself what is the one key thing  that we can do right away to help her win and I said  you need a car,” Casey said.
 
Thurman says this car is more than just transportation; it represents independence, healing and hope.

Casey wasn’t alone in her efforts; Ronald Gunn also stepped up in a big way, offering up one of his vehicle at a significantly reduced price to help make the donation possible
 
“I like to sell cars so when I saw the tag, I got in contact with Dr. Marty; she told me the story, and the story hit home,” Gunn said. “My mother was a victim of  gun violence as well.”