Man fell off car roof, left to die in Dingley Village after hit-run
A man was killed instantly after he fell off the roof of a moving car and was dragged along a Dingley Village road for 30m, with the callous driver leaving his body behind. Police are combing an abandoned Commodore for evidence.
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A man was left for dead after falling from the roof of a moving car he was clinging to and being dragged 30m down a road, after an altercation in Melbourne’s southeast early on Friday.
The attempted theft of a furniture van is understood to be the catalyst for the fatality, which police labelled “absolutely unfortunate” just days before Christmas.
The victim, in his 50s, was found in the middle of Spring Rd in Dingley Village about 4.30am.
Detective Inspector Stuart McGregor of the Major Collision Investigation Unit said he had been dragged 30m along the road before the driver fled the scene.
“We’ve got skid marks that indicate they were driving in a manner that’s trying to get him off the car,” he said.
“It only takes 30kmh for the force of a car to kill another person. When you fall from a car and hit your head, our bodies are not designed to withstand that kind of force.”
The incident began in Toorak Drive, off Spring Rd. Local resident Steven Brezic, said he heard “tyres screech” about 4.30am, followed by “fairly loud male voices”.
Another resident, Greg Corrie, said when the Commodore driver realised the Toorak Drive was a dead end, he reversed backward at a speed of around 70kmh.
It is believed the man who died may have been clinging to the roof of the car — described as a gold 1992 Commodore — at the time. A passer-by found him lying in the road.
The Commodore was dumped about 1km further down Spring Rd from where the man was found. There was no major damage to the vehicle but forensics experts were investigating scuff marks. Detectives on Friday interviewed a number of men from a Toorak Drive home.
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Drug use would be a key line of inquiry for detectives, Insp McGregor said. “Unfortunately it’s drugs on too many occasions. Too often we see drugs being involved in people driving on our roads. This sort of erratic behaviour ends up with a person dying, and someone goes to jail.”
He added: “What a terrible Christmas for families of the poor victim. You will get into a hell of a lot more trouble if you leave the scene and not help someone.”
Dingley Village resident Liliana Kotsiopoulos said Spring Rd frequently attracted hoon drivers. “It is a notorious drag-racing spot,” she said. “We want speed humps. At midnight they hammer it up here at up to 150kmh.”