The search continued Thursday for a suspect accused of shooting a tractor-trailer driver on I-75, leaving him seriously injured, according to Cobb County police.
The driver, a 42-year-old Massachusetts man, was shot shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday by another driver just north of Wade Green Road, Sgt. Wayne Delk with Cobb police said. The suspected shooter did not stop, Delk added. No description of the suspect or a vehicle was available.
When officers arrived, the 18-wheeler was blocking the interstate. Delk said Thursday the driver was shot multiple times.
The injured man was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with life-threatening injuries but was alert, police said. His family told Channel 2 Action News that he underwent emergency surgery.
All lanes of I-75 North were temporarily blocked in the area, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. The lanes reopened around 2:30 p.m.
The driver’s rescue dog, Suzy, was in the cab of the truck and ran into nearby woods when the driver was shot, family members told Channel 2. Suzy was located unharmed late Wednesday.
Anyone who may have seen anything related to the incident is asked to call 770-499-3987 or email cobbpolicecrimetips@cobbcounty.org.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second time in as many days that shots were fired on an Atlanta-area interstate. On Tuesday, a Coweta County deputy shot a man accused of striking several vehicles, including a patrol car, while driving a stolen tractor-trailer, according to investigators.
The man swerved into motorists and police vehicles during the chase, prompting a deputy to resort to “deadly force” to stop the 18-wheeler, according to the Coweta sheriff. The driver, later identified as 56-year-old Bobby Gene Ingram, was shot multiple times.
Investigators in Cobb were working to determine if road rage prompted Wednesday’s shooting. Law enforcement agencies throughout metro Atlanta have reported shootings on interstates and roadways in recent months.
On Tuesday, three people were injured in a suspected road-rage incident in Gwinnett County, according to police. Shots were fired after two vehicles pulled into a Buford Drive business shortly after 5:15 p.m., police said.
Early Thursday, a man who was involved in an argument at a DeKalb County business drove away from the scene but was soon seriously injured in a shooting on I-285, police said. The man, who is in his 30s, argued with multiple suspects before the shooting around 5 a.m., DeKalb police said. After leaving, the man was shot while driving on I-285 northbound near I-20.
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