As one man hopped into the pickup and another hopped out, its owner jumped in front.
“You are stealing my vehicle!” a witness heard the man shout.
But standing in front was not enough to stop the man at the wheel.
“The guy just hit the gas and ran him over,” said witness Carmon Hicks.
The truck then sped away, leaving the apparent owner smashed on the pavement. The owner, whose name had not been released Tuesday evening, was in serious condition.
“He has some serious injuries, but it looks like he’ll make it,” said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
The victim is believed to know the man who ran him down, but because of his injuries, police have not been able to speak with him, Jackson said.
The suspect, who had not been found by police Tuesday night, apparently used the truck without the owner’s permission Monday, which may have sparked Tuesday’s confrontation, Jackson said.
“This is a situation where the victim and the suspect probably knew each other,” Jackson said. “It was not a random carjacking.”
The incident began about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday in the Uptown neighborhood.
Witnesses reported two men arguing near East 17th Avenue and Pearl Street.
Hicks said as the two men were arguing, one climbed in and the other walked to the driver’s window and then in front of the truck.
“I thought he was dead; he wasn’t moving,” Hicks said. “Then a few people checked on him, and they thought he was still breathing.”
Police Detective Sharon Avendano said officers talked to a man who was in the passenger’s seat of the truck and jumped out just before the owner was run over.
Walt Sanchez, a state worker, said he watched from across busy East 17th Avenue as the truck ran over the man. He saw the truck rise up and down, as if going over a speed bump, as it hit the victim.
“I just thought it was very heartless,” Sanchez said. “It’s a shock.”
The pickup, which had chrome wheels, tinted windows, a University of Wyoming Cowboys sticker in the back window and a red bumper sticker that said “English is spoken in America,” was last seen southbound on Park Avenue.
The Colorado license plate number is 588SHN.
Staff writer Joey Bunch contributed to this report.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
