Man left to die along interstate after being shot in stomach, family says

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Locust Grove police are investigating a shooting that happened along Interstate 75.

Travis Bell said he got into a taxi cab with three other people Jan. 2. when the driver started going the wrong way.

Bell told police when he said something to the driver, the driver then pulled over along the side of the interstate, pulled out a gun and demanded Bell’s wallet, phone and other valuables. That’s when family members said Bell was shot in the stomach.

The next thing Bell said he remembers is waking up at Grady Memorial Hospital. His family said he had been laying for at 30 minutes along the side of the interstate before he was able to flag someone down to help.

"We love him more than anything in this world," said his mother, Lisa Meeks.

Meeks says she has been by her son's side at Grady Memorial Hospital since the shooting.

Bell has had three surgeries since he was shot in the stomach.

"It's very devastating not knowing from one day to the next if my sons going to make it, if my son is going to live," Meeks said.

Meeks has a message for the person responsible.

"You almost took his life and that is just so wrong for someone who works so hard and tries so hard to be good to everybody," she said.

Channel 2's Matt Johnson contacted a Locust Grove investigator who said this an ongoing investigation.

Bell's family members said every day is a fight and every day comes with some regret.

"He wishes that, you know, he would have never met them guys," Meeks said.

Cox Media Group