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Man ran over, killed outside 8 Mile Grill Coney Island in Detroit

Suspect on the loose
Posted at 4:35 AM, Sep 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-11 17:56:34-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Police are investigating an argument that turned into a deadly hit-and-run in a parking lot on Detroit’s west side early Wednesday morning.

A worker at the 8 Mile Grill Coney Island tells 7 Action News that there was an altercation inside before the victim was run over by another man.

This happened around 3:25 a.m., police say.

“As far as my employees told me, the guy was in here getting something to eat,” explained Dave Lampkin, a cook at the restaurant. “He had an altercation with a guy about his girl, and that was that.”

Lampkin said the victim was a regular. It’s not clear who the driver that struck him is.

The man killed is 58-year-old Horland Patterson. He lives just a few blocks away.

His 80-year-old mother Ella Mae Patterson went to the scene early this morning when she heard what happened.

She tells 7 Action News, "No, I’m not going to see my son again. Police need to find him and pick him up. Or he needs to turn himself in."

She says her son was a hard worker, a union roofer who did big jobs for Ford and the Detroit Medical Center. She says on the scene the medical examiner asked her to identify her son's remains, under a sheet in the parking lot.

She says, "Then I asked the medical examiner could I kiss him? He said yes. And I kissed him on his jaw."

Police described the suspect as a man in his 40s, likely driving a newer model Burgundy Chevy or Ford pickup truck. A woman was in the vehicle with the driver when the pair ran over the man, according to preliminary information.

Lampkin said it’s a tragedy, over something that didn’t need to happen.

“A good woman loses her oldest son over something dumb and stupid,” said Lampkin.

Crews were on scene in front of the business on W. 8 Mile Road between Livernois and Wyoming.

Anyone with information should call Detroit Police or Crimestoppers, 1-800-SPEAK-UP