I-75 Southbound near Dalton was blocked for 2 ½ hours early Monday morning after a car came to rest in the middle of the freeway with the driver dead from a gunshot to the head.
Catoosa County Sheriff Gary R. Sisk said at 2:55 a.m., the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office and Ringgold Police Department responded to a call of an individual in a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head on I-75 southbound south of exit 348.
Upon arrival, deputies found the driver deceased with a gunshot wound to the head. The driver was later identified as Noel Lopez, 35, of 979 Twin Springs Road SE, Dalton.
There were two females in the vehicle at the time of the incident - Lopez’s wife and a female friend. The sheriff said those three individuals had gone to a bar together in Chattanooga around 11 p.m., where they consumed alcohol for several hours.
The sheriff said, "Statements obtained from the occupants indicates there was a mutually physical domestic argument going on between Noel Lopez and his wife in the front seat while they were traveling down the Interstate. A gun became involved, and it discharged striking Mr. Lopez in the head. The vehicle came to rest in the middle of Interstate 75 southbound.
"Interstate 75 southbound was closed for approximately 2 ½ hours while the scene was processed by the Sheriff Office crime scene processor. Lopez’s body was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ crime lab for an autopsy.
"Several pieces of evidence are being submitted for forensic processing to determine the facts of this incident. This is an ongoing investigation, so no further information will be released at this time."
No criminal charges have been filed pending the completion of the investigation.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Detective Tim Busby or Captain Chris Lyons with the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 935-2424.