Doctors say a former Marine critically injured last week in an apparent attack at a Cobb County apartment complex may never regain consciousness, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Cobb County police continue to seek information about the incident the early morning of March 25 that put 34-year-old Zach Gamble in Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, Marietta.
Gamble, who saw two tours of duty in Iraq only to be gravely hurt after he returned home to the United States, was found unconscious in the parking lot of the Concord Crossing Apartments near Smyrna by a taxi driver who accidentally struck him.
Police said they believe the Gainesville man’s most serious injuries were not caused by the taxi. Gamble was asked to leave a party in one of the apartments, and witnesses reported hearing a loud argument before the man was found lying on the ground.
“It’s a fair assessment that he was attacked in some manner that ultimately caused him to be struck by that taxi cab,” Sgt. Dana Pierce, spokesman for the Cobb County Police Department, told the AJC in a phone interview.
The man’s mother, Tina Robbins, told Channel 2, “I think that someone had his attention and someone else came behind him and he took a horrific blow to the back of the head.”
Gamble, who underwent brain surgery at Wellstar Kennestone, has been unable to tell police what happened. Robbins said her son’s condition is grave, and a recent MRI showed that he may have had a third stroke on Monday.
His family has set up a Facebook page, “Justice for Zach Gamble,” seeking information about the incident. Robbins said that she hopes someone at the party will speak up.
Pierce said, “His mother have been doing a tremendous job keeping this at the forefront of the public, so hopefully some tip will come about to break this case.”
Police asked anyone with information about the incident -- and specifically, what happened from 5 a.m. until 6 a.m. March 25, when police received the 911 call from the cab driver -- to call the Cobb County police's Crimes Against Persons unit at 770-499-3945.
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