MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marcus Ross went from being a driver stuck in traffic on I-240 Tuesday, June 11, to a good Samaritan helping another driver and his family, the latest victims of violence on Memphis' interstates.
"We were in traffic on I-240. Out of nowhere, we just heard gunshots — a lot of gunshots on the expressway," Ross said. "So, we had our two sons in the back, and so we told the two kids to get down on the floor, and we hopped out the car when we're seeing a man and his son get out, and he was screaming his son got shot.”
Ross helped a father and his four children after they were shot in one of three violent incidents on the busy interstate in the last month.
"So we rushed to him and got the child and put the child in the car, and he said he got some more kids in the car," Ross recalled. "So, we pulled the truck up and put the kids inside and put him inside.”
Ross took a 2-year-old, two 3-year-olds and an 8-year-old along with their father to the nearby Baptist hospital.
The shooting brings into question the progress of the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) here in Memphis.
“I mean for the past month I’ve been seeing more state troopers,” Ross said “They’ve been trying to recruit more people."
Last November, Gov. Bill Lee announced more than 50 Tennessee highway troopers would be in Shelby County, many of them to stay here indefinitely.
ABC24 attempted to contact the agency Wednesday, June 12, but had no success. We do know THP was supposed to bolster “Operation Grizzly” to decrease traffic-related deaths and promote public safety.
“It takes a village," Ross said. "If they can get more on the highway, get more [police].”