A Union man was killed Wednesday after his vehicle came out of park and rolled over him while he was walking through the parking lot of a store.
Newton County Coroner Danny Shoemaker identified the victim as Charlie Collins, 68, of Union. Union Police Chief Billy Pat Walker said Collins lived at the Union congregate housing.
On Wednesday morning, Walker said Collins had parked in the parking lot of Piggly Wiggly. The victim got out of his Ford F-150 with an automatic transmission and began walking behind it when the pickup began to move.
“Evidently, it didn’t go into park or didn’t catch, and the truck started rolling,” Walker said. “It knocked him down and ran him over. And the vehicle kept going. It went down the parking lot and then started rolling down West Jackson Street. It eventually wound up in the ditch in front of Ward’s.
“Fortunately, there wasn’t any traffic on West Jackson at that time. It was such a tragic accident already, but it could have been worse if there had been someone else on the road at that time.”
Union first responders and PatientCare EMS arrived on the scene shortly after the accident. They transported Collins to Laird Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Shoemaker said the cause of death was “blunt force trauma to the head and chest.”
Walker said that he’s never seen an accident like this.
“That’s a horrible way to start out a day,” Walker said. “I mean, he was just going to the grocery store, and then this happens. I know the family, and I’m sure they are just devastated. It’s just a horrible situation. I really feel for them.
“The first responders and EMS did all they could. It was just a freak accident.”
