Neighbors say man fatally hit by his own car on Indy's southwest side

INDIANAPOLIS - Neighbors stood in shock watching what they described as a man getting hit by his own car.




The deadly hit-and-run happened Thursday morning just after 11 a.m. near W. Troy Avenue and Denison Street on the city's southwest side, according to IMPD.




Officers said preliminary information suggests there was some kind of disturbance that led up to the incident. 




A woman, who identified herself as the ex-girlfriend of the victim, said the violence started after someone tried to steal his car, a black Jeep. 




Neighbor Cindi Burks said she watched that exchange happen right in front of her. 




"A black Jeep was parked in front of our houses," Burks said. "The one tall guy got in the front seat. The other gentleman, the victim, got in the backseat, or was trying to."




Burks said the victim's face was bloodied after he had tried to get in his car, and that the man who got control of the victim's car drove off and tried to hit the victim twice before he finally did.




"[The victim] walked over to the corner of the fence and the guy full force hit him," Burks said.




IMPD said the victim was still alive at the scene but later died at the hospital. 




"We are investigating this, at this time, as a homicide based on the facts and circumstances we have right now," IMPD Sergeant William Young said. 




After seeing the man being hit by his own car, Burks said she and another neighbor tried to scare off the driver before he could get any closer to the victim. 




"[The driver] got out of the Jeep come walking towards [the victim] and me and the neighbor kind of cussed at [the driver] because we didn't know what he was going to do," Burks said.




She said the driver and a woman who was outside ran off after that. Police cars then flooded in trying to help the man who, at that point, was still alive.




"The one policeman that came first did CPR for a long time," Burks said. "He was really good."




Inside her home, Burks wasn't alone in feeling the shock.




"My little great-grandson knew something was wrong," Burks said. "He was rubbing my back and telling me he was nervous. So yeah, it would have been really bad if they would have seen it."




The victim and the suspect had yet to be identified as of Thursday night, but officials have a message for whoever is responsible. 




"We want you to turn yourself in and speak with investigators," Young said. "Let us know what happened so we can get the information we so desire whenever we have a particular case like this."




Anyone with information is asked to contact the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475.



via: https://fox59.com/news/neighbors-say-man-fatally-hit-by-his-own-car-on-indys-southwest-side/