Police Officer Rushing to Shooting Runs Over Victim

A man in Springfield, Ohio, who called 911 for help after he was shot in his arm was run over by the officer responding to the call, police say. He died shortly afterward, NBC News reports. Police are investigating that incident, and also looking for who shot Eric Cole, 42. Cole called 911 at 11:15pm Monday, saying, “I’m in the middle of the street. I’m about to die,” WHIO reports. He was still on the phone with dispatchers when he was struck by the police SUV driven by Officer Amanda Rosales of the Springfield Police. “They just hit me,” he told the dispatcher. Dash cam video from Rosales’ vehicle shows Cole lying in the street, his shirt soaked in blood, holding something up to his head moments before he was struck.

“It was an accident,” Springfield Police Chief Lee Graf said at a news conference Wednesday. He said police were focused on looking for house numbers to find the address they were being sent to and didn’t see Cole. He said that while the dash cam was clearly aimed at Cole, the officers in the car were looking away from the road. Cole’s mother, Regina Wilson, found this explanation troubling. “I want the officer held accountable,” she said. (More police stories.)