Man run over by his own van dies after stealing from Wichita Ace Hardware, police say
A retail theft suspect was killed Wednesday morning after he was dragged and run over by his own van at a store in east Wichita.
Police did not immediately identify the suspect, who they said was a 69-year-old man.
Police responded to an injury accident call at 10:15 a.m. involving a vehicle and pedestrian at the Ace Hardware at Douglas and Hillside, Wichita police Lieutenant Krys Henderson said at the scene.
Officers arrived and found the man wedged between the van door and the van in the store’s parking lot. He was trapped for roughly 4-5 minutes before store employees found him trapped and not breathing.
EMS and Wichita fire were called and pronounced the man deceased at the scene, police said.
Henderson said the man’s death may have occurred after he attempted to steal a home air filter from Ace Hardware.
“It was an air filter that you would normally have for your home,” Henderson said. “We believe that he was stealing that, and attempted to get away in his car. Upon that, the car drug him and partially ran him over.”
Wichita Police’s critical accident team was on the scene piecing together what happened and investigating the cause of death.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 1:02 PM.