Third man arrested after deadly hit and run that noticed pedestrian in his 80s ‘carried on prime of automotive for greater than a mile’
A third man has been arrested following a fatal hit and run which saw a pedestrian in his 80s ‘carried on top of a car for more than a mile’.
The pensioner was struck down by a grey Mercedes in Gillingham, Kent, on Monday afternoon.
It is understood that the man had been carried on top of the vehicle for 1.5 miles after being hit at a pedestrian crossing, according to local reports.
Yesterday, Kent Police released CCTV footage of two hooded men dressed in dark clothing fleeing the area on foot while one holds a yellow number plate.
On the same day, a 29-year-old from Chatham and a 28-year-old of no fixed address were arrested and remain in custody.
Now a 28-year-old man from Edgware, London, has also been arrested and remains in custody.
The police are not looking for any further suspects at this time, but they have urged members of the public to submit any dash cam or CCTV footage showing a grey Mercedes estate car to help in their investigation.
Emergency services rushed to the incident on the A289 Gads Hill at around 12.10pm on December 29 as paramedics treated the man at the scene.
Yesterday, Kent Police released CCTV footage of a hooded men dressed in dark clothing fleeing the area on foot while holding a yellow number plate
Emergency services rushed to the incident on the A289 Gads Hill at around 12.10pm as paramedics treated the man at the scene, who was later pronouced dead
However, he was later pronounced dead, the force said.
The incident sparked a major emergency services response with more than 20 police, fire and ambulance vehicles sent to the scene, as well as the air ambulance and police helicopter.
Residents who live close described the incident as ‘distressing’ and ‘surreal’.
Resident Ralph Belmonte said the man was found by a postman outside his home, more than a mile away from the collision.
‘It was distressing. It was surreal, people cannot do things like that,’ Mr Belmonte said.
‘The air ambulance landed in the field nearby, and they had drones and police dogs searching.
‘This lane has always been isolated, and there has been some incidents, but nothing to this scale.
‘I do not know what has happened to society. The police and ambulance crews were so quick. There were around 20 cars here.
Emergency services rushed to the incident on the A289 Gads Hill at around 12.10pm on Monday December 29 as paramedics treated the man at the scene
‘The emergency response was well coordinated.’
One witness, a 32-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We saw two men who were walking quite close to the road and looked a bit out of breath. They kept checking behind them.
‘There are a lot of dog walkers and runners who use that road so we didn’t think much of it.
‘As we carried on along Eastcourt Lane, we saw a group of people by a Royal Mail van. Someone was doing CPR in the road.
‘A young lad was trying to be helpful and wave us past, but we decided to turn around and came across the dumped Mercedes.’
Detective Inspector Zoe Wilczek of Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: ‘We would like to thank all those who have assisted our investigation so far.
‘While we are not looking for any further suspects at this time, we are urging anyone who witnessed the incident, or saw the vehicle or pedestrian prior to the collision, to contact us.
‘We’re also asking anyone who may have caught any part of the incident on their dash cams and CCTV, and has not yet got in touch with us, to do so.’
