Elderly army veteran dies after being dragged for half a mile in horrific carjacking, California police say

An elderly man who was simply vacuuming his vehicle was killed during a horrific carjacking incident in Southern California, police say.

78-year-old James Norman was cleaning his Chevy Trailblazer at about 12:30 p.m. at a gas station on Hidden Valley Parkway in Corona when someone hopped into the vehicle and drove off. He backed up and trapped Norman, who was hanging from the back seat.

‘He knew my dad was hanging, but just panicked and kept going until he fell out of the car.’

Norman was dragged for about a half mile by the vehicle before being ejected onto the street.

Corona police said they responded to a call about a carjacking at the gas station. They said they found Norman, and he was transported to a hospital but was later declared dead.

Police reviewed surveillance video, interviewed several people, and detained one suspect in the case after finding the car abandoned. The suspect was identified as 29-year-old Ryan Hewitt from Corona.

Hewitt was charged for carjacking and murder and is scheduled for a hearing on May 14.

Norman’s daughter, Nicole Lauritsen, said that her father was an Army veteran and probably didn’t hear what happened over the sound of the vacuum and because of his hearing aids.

RELATED: Armed woman foils alleged carjacking attempt by three teens, and an 11-year-old

“He was too old and frail to get out before the door slammed on him,” she said. “He knew my dad was hanging, but just panicked and kept going until he fell out of the car.”

A GoFundMe account was set up to help the family with Norman’s expenses.

Corona is a suburb of Los Angeles about 36 miles inland from the coast.

A news report about the incident can be viewed on the YouTube channel for KABC-TV.

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