I-70 shooting victim dies weeks later

A 20-year-old man died Sunday, weeks after arriving at Mount Carmel West Hospital by private vehicle with a gunshot wound.

Joshua S. Lucas, of the Near East Side, originally was brought to the hospital the afternoon of Aug. 27.

The shooting was believed to have occurred nearby in the eastbound lane of Interstate 70 near the Mound Street exit, Columbus police said.

Lucas was a passenger in a vehicle with two others traveling east on Interstate 70 around 4:30 p.m. when a black SUV pulled next to them and five shots were fired into their passenger side, police said.

One bullet struck Lucas in the neck, police said. The other two people in the vehicle immediately took Lucas to nearby Mount Carmel West.

The Columbus police assault squad originally handled the investigation and Lucas spoke with detectives, said Sgt. James Jardine, who supervises the assault squad.

“We actually thought he was getting better,” Jardine said.

However, Lucas died Sunday and homicide detectives took over the case. He is the city’s 99th homicide victim of 2017.

The homicide squad has no known suspects or motive in the shooting, according to a statement announcing the death issued Tuesday night by Sgt. Stan Latta, secondshift homicide supervisor.