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Riding in a vehicle can be dangerous because of the regularity of wrecks, but motorists do not expect to have to dodge bullets.

The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent gunshot into a vehicle while it traveled south April 25 on Interstate 65.

Chilton County Sheriff John Shearon said the driver of the vehicle, who was uninjured, contacted authorities after he believed a shot was fired into his vehicle near I-65 Exit 219.

Shearon said the driver reported his belief that the shot was fired from a passing vehicle and was able to provide a tag number.

“At this point in time, that’s all we really have, and we’re trying to track them down,” Shearon said.

A bullet hole was visible on the outside and inside of the vehicle, and the shell was found inside the vehicle. Shearon said a piece of metal in the door frame of the vehicle seemed to have deflected the bullet away from where the driver was sitting.

Even when a tag number is available, it can still prove difficult to track down the driver of a vehicle, Shearon said, as tags can be fraudulent, especially those associated with vehicles of those looking to commit crimes.

Shearon said this is not the first instance he has seen of a gunshot striking a vehicle, but the sheriff added that there have been cases when the cause was accidental.

“It could be a stray bullet from somebody shooting target practice,” Shearon said. “You just never know.”