The motorist killed in a shooting that closed eastbound Interstate 4 in Tampa for nearly eight hours Saturday has been identified as a 47-year-old Orlando man.

Fred William Turner Jr. was fatally shot while he was on a cell phone telling a 911 dispatcher someone with a gun was pursuing him, authorities said.

The shooting happened around 3 p.m. and prompted authorities to close I-4 at I-75 while they examined the scene and searched for clues. The closure eventually stretched west to U.S. 301 and didn't end until nearly 11 p.m.

Turner, who was driving a newer model Ford Mustang, told the dispatcher he was being followed by a man with a gun in the area of North 50th Street and East Columbus Drive. The pursuer drove a gray Ford Taurus with tinted windows, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Turner told the dispatcher that before the man had started following him, he had pulled up next to him, rolled down a window and brandished a semi-automatic handgun. He didn't know the man or why he started following him.

Turner stayed on the phone with the dispatcher while he drove onto I-4 and headed east toward Orlando. As he approached the I-75 overpass, shots rang out and Turner was hit, authorities said.

Turner pulled his car over and died at the scene, deputies said.

People living in turner’s Orlando neighborhood couldn’t believe who would want to hurt him.

“He’d come and go, keep to himself,” said Cary Blas, a neighbor. “He would stop and say hi, goodbye, how’s things going. He would play with Lucy (Blas’ dog) for a minute then either go back to his apartment or to his garage."

Blas said he’d often see Turner working on his motorcycle or his car.

Turner’s ex-wife also told us off-camera he worked as the head of housekeeping at a hotel in Orlando. She said they remained friends after the divorce.

Three law enforcement agencies - the sheriff's office, Tampa police and the Florida Highway Patrol - participated in the investigation Saturday. Authorities are asking that anyone who has relevant information call Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-8377.