A Denver man remained in serious condition tonight after he was run over as he tried to stop the apparent theft of his truck.
The incident began about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood.
Witnesses reported two men arguing near East 17th Avenue and Pearl Street.
“You are stealing my vehicle!,” a witness heard the man shout. As the man moved to the front, the truck ran him over.
“The guy just hit the gas and ran him over,” said witness Carmon Hicks.
The truck then sped away, leaving the apparent owner of the truck 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 knows the man who ran him down, but because of his injuries police have not yet been able to speak with him, Jackson said.
Hicks said as the two men were arguing, one climbed in and the second man walked to the driver’s window and then in front of the truck.
Witnesses ran to help the victim.
“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.”
A police spokeswoman said police interviewed a man who was in the passenger’s seat of the truck, who 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 truck, 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 truck has tinted windows.
The Colorado license plate is 588SHN.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
