A teenager from Maine was shot and wounded Sunday afternoon in Massachusetts during what police are describing as a road rage incident on Interstate 495 in Merrimac.

Lt. Dan Richard, a trooper with the Massachusetts State Police, said the girl was returning from Lexington, Mass., to her home in Limington with her parents and brother when the shooting took place.

Richard said both vehicles were traveling on I-495 north when a passenger in a white Honda Accord with Massachusetts license plates pointed a gun at the Maine family and fired a single shot into their 2002 Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle.

The bullet struck the girl, whose name is not being released, in the upper left arm. She was taken to the Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport with injuries believed to be non-life threatening, Richard said.

He said the Maine family described the incident as “road rage,” but he did not have details on what may have precipitated the incident.

State police are searching for the suspect vehicle, which has tinted windows and a red, white and blue license plate.

The shooter is described as a light-skinned African American or Hispanic male with short hair, wearing a gray T-shirt and sunglasses. The driver was a white woman wearing sunglasses.

Traffic was heavy at the time of the shooting and state police are hoping witnesses will contact them at (978) 462-7478 with more information.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com