A man died Wednesday evening at a Goodyear tire center on Columbus’s Southwest Side after an SUV he was working under rolled over him, according to Columbus police. The man was working under a 2006 Honda CR-V at the Goodyear Commercial Tire and Service Center at 1950 Hendrix Drive when the vehicle moved and rolled over him, police said in a news release reported by The Columbus Dispatch.
Police said the man shifted the SUV’s transmission into drive while he was under the vehicle, causing it to roll over him. The call came in just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, and a caller reported that a man was under an SUV in the parking lot and was bleeding, a Columbus police dispatcher told The Dispatch in its first report on the incident that night.
Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene at 6:42 p.m., police said. The Columbus Dispatch reported that the man had not been publicly identified as of Thursday, November 12, and that a male employee at the service center declined to comment on Wednesday when asked whether the victim was an employee, referring questions to Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company based in Arkansas that operates the tire centers.
The Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit is investigating the death, police said. Officers were on the scene Wednesday evening reviewing video footage and speaking with witnesses, according to The Dispatch’s first report. Police have asked anyone with information about the man or the SUV to contact the Accident Investigation Unit at 614-645-4767 or to provide an anonymous tip to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
The Goodyear Commercial Tire and Service Center on Hendrix Drive serves commercial and fleet customers, and the incident happened during the evening work period rather than in the middle of the night, when the building would have been quiet. That timing meant other workers and witnesses were present, and police said officers were able to speak with witnesses and review video on the night of the incident.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: What is confirmed is the time, the place, the vehicle, and the sequence police described: a man under a 2006 Honda CR-V at 1950 Hendrix Drive on the evening of November 11, the transmission shifting into drive, the SUV rolling over him, and medics pronouncing him dead at 6:42 p.m. What has not been released is the man’s name, whether he was an employee of the service center or a customer working on his own vehicle, and whether any safety equipment, wheel chocks, or lift was in use at the time. Police have also not said whether the death is being treated as an accident or whether any other agency is involved in the investigation.
For families in the neighborhood, the death is a reminder of how quickly routine vehicle work can turn dangerous. A vehicle that is not properly secured can move with little warning, and working beneath one without adequate support leaves no margin for error. Police have not attributed the incident to any particular failure, and no finding about the cause beyond the sequence they described has been released.
Columbus has seen other serious vehicle incidents this week. On Thursday morning, a tractor-trailer crash spilled fuel and closed the ramp from Interstate 70 East to Interstate 71 North near downtown Columbus for several hours before it reopened, as reported in our earlier coverage of the ramp closure. A separate fatal crash investigation in Weller Township this week, covered in our report on the Weller Township tree crash, also remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The death is being investigated by the Accident Investigation Unit, which handles serious and fatal vehicle incidents in Columbus. Such investigations typically include a review of the scene, the vehicle, any available video, and statements from witnesses, and they can take days or weeks before police release a full account. Police have not given a timetable for the next update in this case.
Residents who were in the area of Hendrix Drive on Wednesday evening and saw what happened, or who know the man involved, can help investigators by calling the Accident Investigation Unit at 614-645-4767. Anonymous tips can also be given to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
What happens next is up to the Accident Investigation Unit: identification of the man, a determination of the circumstances, and any further statements from police or the company that operates the center. We will update this story when police release the man’s name or new details about the investigation.
Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY