Investigators aren’t sure why Carmen Cai Yi Lee was targeted as she drove home from a friend’s house last month.
When her SUV was spotted next to the median on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, a Doraville police officer stopped, thinking the driver was stranded. Instead, Lee had been shot and died from her injuries.
On Wednesday, Doraville police said whoever shot Lee may have been the same person who fired gunshots at another vehicle less than a half-mile away moments earlier on the evening of May 29. While investigators work to determine if the suspect is the same in both crimes, they are again asking for the public’s help, Cpl. Kevin Kaspar told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Even the smallest witness detail could help bring a killer to justice,” Doraville police said in an emailed statement.
Lee’s death was among at least 13 on metro Atlanta roadways this year. More than 30 shootings have been reported on metro roads, injuring several drivers and passengers.
Around 9:15 that night, Doraville officers were called to the area of Oakcliff Road and Buford Highway to meet with a 50-year-old man who said his vehicle was shot several times while traveling south on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard near Winters Chapel Road. At the scene, investigators learned the shots were fired just north of the Doraville city limits in Gwinnett County. Gwinnett police took over the investigation at that point.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
A few minutes later, a 2008 Toyota RAV4 was spotted next to the median wall on Peachtree Industrial near Tilly Mill Road, according to police. Lee had been shot in the head.
“She was the most gentle soul. Selfless,” Lee’s boyfriend, Petrus Reyes, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution days after her death. “She was always doing something for someone else. I had to remind her, ‘Stop, let’s take care of yourself first.’”
Investigators believe the shots were fired at the Gwinnett man in an act of road rage, police said Wednesday. But it’s unclear why Lee was targeted, Kaspar said.
Anyone driving in the area between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. that may have seen something that could help detectives is asked to contact Doraville police at 770-455-1000. Callers can remain anonymous.
ROADWAY SHOOTING DEATHS
At least 13 people have been killed after being shot this year while traveling on roadways in metro Atlanta and surrounding counties:
Jan. 4: Ernesto Anderson, 32, on I-20 at Capitol Avenue in Atlanta
Jan. 14: Dagamy Dembel, 48, on I-85 between North Druid Hills and Clairmont roads in DeKalb County
Jan. 24: Brandon Hamilton, 44, on Piedmont Road in Atlanta
Feb. 10: Jarmel Jowers, 29, in the southbound lanes of I-85 in Midtown Atlanta
Feb. 25: Solomon Howard, 33, on I-20 on the ramp to the Downtown Connector
March 5: Corey Detiege, 33, also known as rapper Chucky Trill, on I-85 in Gwinnett County
May 1: Ketravian Tyvon Cole, 20, on Ga. 316 in Barrow County
May 8: Dexter Calhoun, 63, on Emerald Avenue in southwest Atlanta
May 17: Mayco Rodrique, 37, on Ga. 400 in Atlanta
May 26: Sheikevious Young, 21, on I-285 near Church Street in DeKalb County
May 29: Carmen Cai Yi Lee, 25, on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Doraville
June 1: Alessander Bryant, 31, and Marquise Flores, 22, on I-285 in College Park
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