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Person found dead with a gunshot wound inside car on I-77, arrest made

The deceased person was discovered after a state trooper stopped to check the abandoned vehicle.

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CORNELIUS, N.C. — The Cornelius Police Department is conducting a homicide investigation after a man was found dead inside a car on Interstate 77 Thursday. The person had a gunshot wound, according to officials.

Around 6 a.m., a North Carolina state trooper was investigating a disabled vehicle in the toll lanes of I-77 southbound near Huntersville. Inside the vehicle, the trooper found a deceased person with a gunshot wound. The victim has since been identified as 34-year-old Brandon Hedrick.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol initially said it appeared the car had run off the road and hit the retaining wall. The southbound express lanes on I-77 between exits 28 and 25 were closed until 11 a.m. Thursday.

On Friday, The Cornelius Police Department arrested 22-year-old Rymyr Davaughn Quarles of Mooresville and charged Quarles with Hedrick's murder.

**ACTIVE INVESTIGATION**
Cornelius Police Department is on scene with a victim who was found in a vehicle in the I-77 southbound toll lane with a gunshot wound. This is still an active investigation. The interstate is now open.
— Cornelius Police Department (@CorneliusPD) August 12, 2021

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