A prominent Atlanta attorney who shot and killed his wife while they were traveling inside an SUV near Piedmont Park on Sunday claims it was accident, according to a report in the AJC. The Fulton County Medical Examiner ruled Friday that the death of Diane McIver, 63, is a homicide.
According to the report, Claud “Tex” McIver, who was riding in the backseat of the SUV, retrieved his handgun from the center console after becoming concerned they might be carjacked. McIver claims the vehicle hit a bump and he accidentally discharged the firearm, which sent a bullet through the seat and into the back of his wife riding in the front passenger seat. The driver of the SUV has not been identified.
Diane McIver – who was president of U.S. Enterprises, Inc., the parent company for Corey Airport Services – was driven nearly 20 minutes to Emory University Hospital in DeKalb County where she died during surgery. Why she was not taken to a closer hospital – such as Emory’s Midtown campus or Piedmont Hospital – is unknown.
The Atlanta Police have said very little about the case as the investigation continues.