A Pennsylvania man was found hiding on a farm outside metro Atlanta on Monday morning after an interstate shooting that killed his traveling companion.
The shooting, which was reported by a third companion shortly after 3 a.m., shut down I-85 for hours in Jackson County and prompted a massive manhunt. Donald Carter, 67, was taken into custody nearly six hours later after the farm’s owner spotted him hiding in a building next to a row of chicken houses, according to the Jackson sheriff’s office.
Carter had been traveling with the victim, 71-year-old Samuel Sanders, and a 22-year-old man, and all three were returning to Philadelphia after working a job in Georgia, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The 22-year-old called for help after Sanders was shot, the agency said.
Credit: Jackson County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Jackson County Sheriff's Office
According to Channel 2 Action News, the 22-year-old was Sanders’ grandson.
Sanders was unresponsive and sitting in the driver’s seat of a panel truck pulling a U-Haul trailer when deputies pulled up to the scene Monday morning. The vehicle was stalled in a northbound emergency lane near mile marker 144, just north of Commerce, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sanders was rushed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“Shortly after arrival, we received the information that there was a suspect who fled the scene on foot,” the sheriff’s office said in the release. “Lee Arrendale (State Prison) K-9 units and GSP Aviation were requested and responded to the scene.”
In addition to state law enforcement, the sheriff’s office said it had help from multiple local agencies to search for Carter. He was located just before 9 a.m. not far from the interstate, the agency said.
Officials told Channel 2 that Carter was sitting on a handgun when he was found, but he was arrested without incident. He was being held at the Jackson County Jail on charges of murder and aggravated assault, online records show.
The GBI is handling the investigation into the shooting, which the sheriff’s office said was prompted by an argument. Agents remained at the scene for hours Monday, causing traffic backups late into the afternoon.
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