Hate Crime?

Gay man found barely alive on Atlanta train tracks after separating from friends during night out

Joshua Dowd. CBS Screenshot.

A gay man remains hospitalized, barely clinging to life in Atlanta following the discovery of his bloodied body on train tracks in the neighborhood of Buckhead.

Paramedics rushed Joshua Dowd, 28, to the hospital early Sunday (July 18) morning. A passer-by noticed his body on the train tracks, barely breathing and bleeding from the head. Apart from the passer-by, the area was deserted at the time.

Related: Three arrested following brutal hate crime-murder of a gay man in Spain

“I’m in freefall,” Colin Kelly, Dowd’s boyfriend of three and a half years, told local news station CBS46. “We don’t have a lot of information to go on.”

“I don’t know how he got there. It’s not an area he would typically be in,” Kelly added. “As far as I can tell, someone hit him with something very hard on his head.”

Kelly further recalled that Dowd had gone out with friends on Sunday night. He separated from the group at some point during the evening, though details as to why, where he was going, or who he might have been meeting remain unknown.

“I really hope we get answers because someone hurt him,” Kelly said. “He’s fighting very hard for his life right now, but someone hurt him and it’s very severe.”

Friends and family of Dowd have started a GoFundMe to help cover his medical expenses. At the time of this writing, it has raised $68,000 of a $100,000 goal.

Police have classified the case of Dowd as “Miscellaneous Non-crime,” though a police spokesperson stressed the investigation is in the early stages and ongoing.

Joshua Dowd remains hospitalized, with severe brain damage and an uncertain medical prognosis. Colin Kelly continues to pray for his recovery.

“Everything I know revolved around Josh,” Kelly said. “Everything I loved revolved around Josh. Everything reminds me of Josh. We’re still holding out hope.”

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