ATLANTA — Atlanta police are not disputing a prominent attorney’s account of how he accidentally shot his wife while riding in an SUV more than a week ago, but said their investigation continues into the facts surrounding the shooting.
[ Diane McIver was shot Sept. 25 ]
and died the next day.%
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Through a family spokesperson, Tex McIver said he and his wife were driving back from their Putnam County home when they hit heavy traffic on the downtown connector. He was in the back seat.
His wife was in the front passenger seat, and a family friend, still unidentified, was driving.
They got off the connector and took to surface streets.
According to the spokesperson, several individuals approached their SUV near the intersection of Peachtree and Pine streets, so the McIvers, fearing that they were about to be carjacked, retrieved a pistol from the center console.
Nothing happened, and they drove away. As they drove up Piedmont, the spokesperson said, Tex McIver had the pistol in a shopping bag on his lap.
They hit a bump and the gun went off, striking Diane McIver in the back, according to the spokesperson.
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The spokesperson said they didn’t initially believe that Diane McIver’s wounds were life-threatening.
Records show that they didn’t call 911 or go to one of four closer hospitals.
Instead, the spokesperson said, they called Emory University Hospital in DeKalb and alerted doctors there that they were on their way.%
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According to the spokesperson, the family was more familiar with doctors at that hospital. Diane McIver died during surgery.
Atlanta police said Tuesday that their investigation continues, and they haven't released much information, because they still need to interview many people and don't want them to know what their investigators already know.
“The case is still ongoing,” said Atlanta police Sgt. Warren Pickard. “Our investigators are in the process of doing their repetitive interviews. We think the interview process is crucial to our investigation. We want everything we hear (to be) them giving us information they’ve heard for the first time.”
Pickard said they do not dispute Tex McIver’s account of what happened, but they still need to investigate the evidence.
“I’m not where I’m going to dispute their account, but I think that we’re doing is either going to confirm or further the investigation,” Pickard said.
Diane McIver was a president at U.S. Enterprises Inc., parent company to Corey Airport Services. Her photo remains on Corey’s smokestack billboard overlooking the downtown connector.