Buffalo Grove Mom Has Died After Shooting on Wisconsin Highway

A Buffalo Grove woman shot in the neck while on her way home from a Wisconsin Dells vacation with her family has died, police said Wednesday.

Tracy Czaczkowski, the mother of two young children, died as a result of a gunshot injury at UW Hospital in Madison on Monday evening, according to Sauk County, Wis., officials. The DEA, where Czackowski's husband, Greg, has worked for the past 11 years, also released a statement Tuesday.

"Tracy was a loving wife of 15 years, a mother of two tender age children, daughter and good friend to all," according to the DEA statement. "The family would like thank everyone for their prayers and out pouring of support for Tracy."

An autopsy is scheduled for later this week, Sauk County Coroner Greg Hahn said in an e-mail.

The Sauk County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin continues to investigate the shooting, which occurred on I-90/I-94 near Lake Delton on Sunday when Greg, who was driving, tried to pass the shooter's Chevy Blaze. The man in the Blazer fired three shots at the family's vehicle, according to police, and fired shots at other vehicles, too.

One shot hit the passenger side door of their BMW sedan. Another hit the hood. And a devastating shot hit the woman in the neck as her family watched. Her husband tried to render medical aid to her as they waited for paramedics, police said Monday.

"All of our thoughts and prayers are with this family who are traveling back to their home state after enjoying our beautiful surroundings here in Wisconsin," Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney said at a Monday press conference.

Czaczkowski’s husband and young children, who were also in the car, were not injured. The children are students at St. Mary School in Buffalo Grove, according to the Buffalo Grove Countryside.

"All we can say right now is that the entire St. Mary's Parish and community is praying for Tracy Czaczkowski and her family, and the family has asked for privacy," a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Chicago told the Buffalo Grove Countryside.

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Witnesses told KTTC.com on Sunday the driver of the Blazer also was tossing beer cans onto the highway when he opened fire. At least one other car was struck, driven by a woman from Florida. The highway was packed with motorists traveling home from the Dells.

Gjuana Hewitt, who was driving through Wisconsin on vacation from Florida, says her car was shot during the incident. She was trying to pass the swerving SUV, but the driver swerved to nearly run her off the road.

"We were directly behind him at this point. He starts chucking beers out the window at us and then I put my head down to take down his license plate and he started shooting," Hewitt tells 27 News.

The shooting took place near Lake Delton in Sauk County at about 3 p.m. Sunday. Mahoney said her condition is "very critical." She was airlifted to a hospital in Baraboo and then transferred to UW Hospital, where she remains.

Several police agencies engaged in a high-speed chase in pursuit of the shooter, whose SUV was stopped when he drove over road spikes. He emerged from his vehicle, refused to drop his gun, and was shot by Columbia County sheriff's deputies. The West Allis, WI, man is 20 years old and is being treated at a hospital.

He's a suspect in a homicide that took place earlier in the day about 90 miles away in West Allis. Police believe the highway shooter killed Gabriel Sanchez, 42, and then went to a church in West Allis where he made several threats.

The police began looking for this man around 7 a.m. when they responded to reports of someone trying to forcibly enter a home in West Allis. There, officers found Sanchez dead. The suspect then went to a church, Epikos Church in Milwaukee, according to police, and threatened another church member before fleeing.

Hours later, the shooting on I-90/I-94 and the high-speed chase began. The chase covered about 15 miles and ended after 12 minutes, police said at a Monday afternoon press conference.

After the shooter was taken down, a medical helicopter was brought in to take him to a hospital. Two other men, ages 30 and 34, were taken into custody, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Those men, the suspect's brothers, were also in the car and involved in the drive-by shooting, police said on Monday.

Funeral arrangements for Tracy are pending. A GoFundMe page has been set up to collect donations to help Tracy's children in anyway possible.