Friends say 911 lines busy during critical moments after shooting

CHAMBLEE, Ga. — Juan Saldarriaga and dozens of fellow taxi drivers visited the scene in Chamblee where an OK Taxi driver was killed.

"You wouldn't think from one day of going out to work, you're going to lose your life," Saldarriaga said.

On Sunday, several taxi drivers prayed and created a memorial for Luz Mariana Matheu. She was killed Saturday night by a passenger.

Matheu's co-worker Claudia Saldarriaga says she saw Matheu in her cab Saturday night at a QT on Buford Highway. She says she saw the passenger hold Matheu at gunpoint.

Saldarriaga says she called 911, but all lines were busy. She says she followed Matheu's car and alerted all drivers in the area to respond.

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Matheu lost control of her cab on Warwick Drive and crashed into a fence, and the suspect ran. %

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Saldarriaga says she held her friend and tried to stop the bleeding.

"We tried calling 911 one more time, while I was there with her and the same thing. Agents are busy now," Saldarriaga said. "By the time they said yes we'll send someone over, she didn't have a pulse."

Police arrested a suspect in a nearby wooded area.

Cox Media Group