Man dead after carjacking; later run over by off-duty Birmingham officer

Crash on 3rd Avenue

One person is dead Wednesday morning after a chain of events involving a crash and an assault (Ivana Hrynkiw | ihrynkiw@al.com)

One person is dead Wednesday morning after a chain of events involving a crash and an assault, and ending with the victim being run over by an off-duty police officer.

The incident started about 4 a.m. on 3rd Avenue North between 10th and 11th Streets when a Chevrolet Camaro struck a motorcycle, according to Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams. After the initial crash, a second car drove up and the people inside that car pulled the Camaro driver out of his vehicle, assaulted him, and left him in the roadway.

Someone in the second car jumped in the Camaro and drove off, followed by the second car. Williams said there are at least two suspects involved in the assault and carjacking, and police do not have a description of their vehicle.

Shortly after the suspects fled the scene and left the Camaro driver laying in the roadway, an off-duty Birmingham police officer in his private vehicle was driving down 3rd Avenue and, without seeing the man in the road, ran over the Camaro driver.

The Camaro driver was pronounced dead on the scene. Williams said officials aren’t sure if he died as a result of his injuries from the assault or if he died from being run over by the off-duty cop.

Williams said the motorcycle driver was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, but is expected to survive.

Soon after the events on 3rd Avenue unfolded, authorities found the Camaro in the 300 block of 66th Street in Fairfield. It had been burned.

Investigators are still trying to figure out if any of the people involved knew each other or were connected in any way. Police had the area of 3rd Avenue North underneath the Interstate 65 overpass blocked off for several hours, but reopened the road at approximately 6:40 a.m.

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