AMITE - The family of Katelynn Strate, the pregnant 17-year-old killed in an alleged road rage incident, is calling for harsher penalties for those who engage in the dangerous act.

In a Tangipahoa Parish courtroom Monday, 55-year-old Barry West pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide in the shooting death of Strate. A grand jury indicted him in March.

Strate died in August 2025. Her boyfriend and West had allegedly been driving aggressively, brake-checking and tailgating each other. According to the Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office, West allegedly fired a shot into the boyfriend's car, hitting Strate in the passenger seat.

Strate was pregnant at the time, and her baby survived.

"[West] should want to be put in jail for taking an innocent girl's life, and taking her away from her baby," Strate's mother, Kristen Blow, said. "This is not the first and only time that he's going to run into road rage. Is he going to do it again?"

Strate's death comes as Louisiana ranks No. 1 nationally in road rage incidents for the second year in a row, according to Consumer Affairs.

"When it comes to road rage, we do see that the total amount of fatal crashes overall are increasing. They're up by about 1000, so not by too much when you look at the big picture but when you take the numbers into consideration, it is safe to say that it's getting a bit worse," Consumer Affairs Media Relations Specialist Lauren Jobe told WBRZ back in January.

The Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office confirmed to WBRZ that Strate's boyfriend, Alain Cruz, will not face charges related to the incident.

WBRZ also reached out to West's attorney, Craig Mordock, and is waiting for a response. West's next court date is set for May.