Attempted theft leads to man's death in parking lot, police say

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Investigators say a man who died in a Wichita parking lot Wednesday morning was hit by his own vehicle as he was allegedly trying to steal a furnace filter.

It happened around 10:15 in the Westlake Ace Hardware parking lot at Douglas and Hillside.

The Wichita Police Department said a 69-year-old man got out of his van to get the furnace filter, but he left the vehicle in drive, and the van pinned him to a fence.

"He was there for approximately four or five minutes before he was identified or recognized by store employees," Lt. Krys Henderson, WPD, said. "They were able to come out, saw that he was wedged between the car door and his own vehicle as a result of a potential theft that he was committing here at Ace Hardware."

They called 911, and first responders arrived, but the man died at the scene.

Henderson said the filter was the kind used in a home furnace.

"He was trying to, we believe that he was stealing that and attempted to get away in his car and upon that, the car drug him and partially ran over him," he said. "We have identified other witnesses with regard to this scene today, and they kind of lead us to believe about what occurred."

The man's name has not been released.