WICHITA, Kan. — A 13-year-old girl in Kansas died after being dragged for several miles by her family’s SUV that had been stolen outside of a restaurant, police said.
The girl was sitting in the back seat of the running vehicle while her family went inside to get food on Saturday when Kevin Palmer, 34, got into the driver’s seat and took off, Wichita police said in a news release.
The teen tried to get out of the vehicle while it was moving but was caught in the seat belt and dragged, police said. Someone saw the SUV, called 911 and followed the vehicle.
Palmer stopped the SUV and ran away, then was captured by arriving officers. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
“This is one of the saddest cases I have been associated with in my over 28 years of law enforcement,” Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said in the release.
The girl was not immediately identified.
Palmer is charged with felony murder. It was unclear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less