A driver killed a man by mowing him down “at high speed” after a fight in a chicken shop in east London, witnesses said today.
The 52-year-old victim was rammed by a white Toyota Prius in Leytonstone in the early hours on Sunday. He was taken to hospital but later died. Detectives have opened a murder investigation. A 32-year-old man struck by the car was also taken to hospital with injuries that were said to be serious but not life-threatening.
Witnesses today said there had been a fight between up to five men in Leytonstone High Road shortly after 12.30am on Sunday. One witness who was at The Bell pub said: “The blokes came out of the chicken shop fighting. Two of them started to leave and one of the other blokes got into his car, a white Prius, and just went after the two of them.
“The police were there within 90 seconds and they began CPR.”
A worker at Kenssy chicken shop said: “They started arguing, I couldn’t understand, but they started shouting and that’s when they got out of the shop and onto the street.”
Michelle Sheeran, who was at The Bell, said: “The man that died got hit by a car going at some speed, and then the car just drove off. The medics arrived really quickly and they worked on him for at least half an hour doing CPR.”
Police were called to reports of a collision at 12.40am. The 52-year-old man died at 5.18pm on Sunday.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Wrigley, who is leading a murder inquiry, appealed for witnesses saying: “At this early stage, it is appears that this was a deliberate act by the driver of the car.”
Three men were injured in a shooting in Leyton High Road at about 8.50pm on Saturday. One victim, aged 30, was in a critical condition in hospital today. The other men are 23 and 28. There have been no arrests in either incident.
