A three-vehicle collision on I-285 turned into a homicide investigation Tuesday evening when police found two men had been repeatedly shot inside a wrecked BMW.
The apparent road-rage shooting in College Park was one of least 30 shootings to occur on metro Atlanta roads this year, and the second deadly encounter in just four days. No suspects have been identified in the case, and College Park police are still searching for drivers who may have witnessed the barrage of gunfire and subsequent crash.
The incident happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the Perimeter near the Riverdale Road exit ramp, according to College Park police. When officers arrived, they found both men mortally wounded inside the wrecked sedan.
“Various witnesses advised several gunshots were heard in the immediate area,” police said Wednesday.
Investigators believe the men were shot during “an act of road rage” before veering out of their lane and colliding with two other vehicles: a Nissan Altima and a Ford SUV. The driver of the BMW was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital but died shortly after arriving, authorities said. The two were later identified as Alessander Bryant, 31, and Marquise Flores, 22.
They were two of at least 13 people shot to death this year on metro Atlanta roads. Several others have been injured in the growing list of roadway shootings reported since January. In most of the cases, the shooters drive off before witnesses have enough information to help police track them down, as was the case Tuesday night.
The occupants of the other two vehicles involved in the crash were taken to separate hospitals with what police described as non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities have not identified the suspect’s vehicle, and are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to call College Park police at 404-761-3131. Those wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the department’s tip line at 404-768-8664 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.
In a separate act of on-road violence, a 25-year-old University of Georgia graduate was shot to death inside her car while driving home on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Doraville late Saturday, authorities said. An officer discovered the woman with a gunshot wound about 9:30 p.m. after spotting her car stopped near the wall just south of Tilly Mill Road. The woman, identified by her boyfriend as Carmen Cai Yi Lee, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“She was the most gentle soul. Selfless,” Lee’s boyfriend, Petrus Reyes, said Wednesday.
Credit: GoFundMe
Credit: GoFundMe
A GoFundMe page started by Lee’s younger brother described her as the “glue that pulled our family together in the darkest of times.”
“Being the older child meant she had the most responsibility,” Alvin Lee wrote. “She was put in the position of taking care of our parents and her younger siblings. Yet, even with all that responsibility on her shoulders, she never gave in, but persevered through her hardships to get to where she was. It hurts to know that she is gone ... We would do anything to bring her back home.”
The fundraising page had raised more than $33,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
— Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
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