Man armed with tree branch run over by work truck after ripping off door handle: police
PHILADELPHIA - Investigators believe a 50-year-old man was armed with a tree branch when he ripped the door handle off a work truck and was run over by the vehicle as it fled overnight in Philadelphia.
What we know:
Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to Ridge and Leverington avenues around 1 a.m. Friday.
Police found a 50-year-old man lying in the road suffering from trauma to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told police the man approached a work truck armed with a tree branch and began tugging on the driver's side door handle.
Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters the handle snapped off the truck as it sped away, fatally striking the man as it fled.
Small said the door handle was found underneath the man's body on the street, and a 5-foot-long tree branch was found nearby.
The work truck was located about 10 blocks away from the deadly incident, and police say the driver is cooperating with investigators.
What we don't know:
Police have not publicly identified the man who was killed, but said he lives about a block away from the incident.
No arrests have been reported, and police have not announced charges as of Friday morning.
Investigators have not said what prompted the 50-year-old man to approach the work truck.