A driver is accused of hitting a 63-year-old man with his car Saturday morning in Roseland and then turning around and running him over again as the man tried to crawl off the road.
Parrish Hartley, 69, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a vehicle and several driving offenses related to the hit-and-run crash shortly after 6 a.m. in the 10700 block of South Emerald Avenue, as well as other incidents.
Surveillance video showed someone being chased by a black Audi sedan near 107th and Halsted streets.
Moments later, Steven Moore left a nearby gas station on foot and was recorded crossing 107th Street, headed toward Emerald Avenue, Cook County prosecutors said in court Monday.
The Audi was then seen following Moore before stopping at 107th and Emerald. When Moore began to cross the street, prosecutors said the Audi accelerated and struck him. Moore was about a block away from where he lived.
After making a U-turn, the driver of the Audi drove back toward Moore, who was trying to crawl onto the sidewalk when he was run over by the Audi and dragged a short distance, prosecutors said.
After striking Moore again, Hartley got out of the car, stood over Moore, then got back in the car and drove away, prosecutors said.
Moore was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide from multiple blunt-force injuries, according to officials.
Neighbors on Tuesday said they were shocked when they learned that Moore was the victim. They described him as amiable and eager to lend a hand.
“I haven’t been right since,” said Alvera Henderson, 96, adding that Moore would mow her lawn or shovel the sidewalk in front of her home in winter.
“He would also call me and ask if I needed him to bring me anything,” Henderson said. “He was very helpful. He was a good person.”
Henderson said Moore’s family is one of the few who have lived on the block for decades.
Arrie Jones, Henderson’s daughter, echoed her mother saying Moore would strike up a conversation with any neighbor, new or old.
“Steven was the kind of person who spoke to all the neighbors,” said Jones, 78. “He helped my mother tremendously. He was just a nice person.”
Hartley was involved in several other incidents that day before being taken into custody, prosecutors said.
Less than half an hour after striking Moore, Hartley was driving the Audi when he approached a man walking his dog in the 11300 block of South Lowe and told the man that he would kill him “just like the others,” prosecutors said.
The man hid in a backyard when Hartley stopped the car, got out and went to get something out of his trunk, prosecutors said. About 15 minutes later, Hartley was accused of threatening to kill another person while holding a knife in the 11100 block of South Green.
A short time later, Hartley began following a woman he saw leaving a McDonald’s in her car and eventually rammed her car with the Audi, prosecutors said.
Hartley got out of the car carrying a knife and a cellphone, but he got back in his car when he saw he was being watched by a witness who saw him strike the woman’s car, prosecutors said.
That witness then used their car to pin shut the driver’s-side door of Hartley’s car, but Hartley ran away, leaving the Audi behind, prosecutors said.
Police found Hartley about 20 minutes later. He was identified by the woman he had struck, prosecutors said.
Hartley is the registered owner of the Audi, which had front-end damage and bloodstains on it, as well as markings that matched those seen on the surveillance footage, prosecutors said.
Judge Deidre Dyer ordered Hartley held in custody pending trial as the case continues.
Hartley is also facing a misdemeanor aggravated assault charge in a separate case in which he allegedly brandished a handgun at a man in June. He was released from police custody on his own recognizance with a July 22 hearing date, according to court records. Prosecutors have moved to revoke his release in that case as well.
