Driver Drags Man Under Car in Accident
Posted by
Christina ColeApril 17, 2007 2:09 AMA man is lucky to be alive after being hit and then dragged by an SUV for almost a mile while the driver ignored the thumping sound under his wheel, New York state police said.
The man, 22, lost his lower lip, right bicep muscle and broke his right shoulder while he was pulled throughout the parking lot, around a traffic circle and up and down a round. After the car accident, Tuesday, he was listed in stable condition.
The SUV was stolen and the occupants were identified by police.
The man was struck in a parking lot behind a bar and somehow became attached to the SUV. He was dislodged or removed by the driver after being dragged around the parking lot for nearly a mile. The SUV then continued traveling down the road until it overturned in the woods. The occupants of the SUV suffered minor injuries.
The driver told police he didn't remember hitting anyone but he did confess to hearing a thumping sound coming from under the front tire as he went along the traffic circle, police said. The driver said he fled because he was nervous. The victim was found conscious but not coherent.
The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated, vehicular assault, unauthorized use of a vehicle, leaving the scene of an auto accident with serious injury and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. The vehicle had been reported stolen by the driver's roommate.