A murder probe has been launched into a brutal hit-and-run in Gateshead which left a 31-year-old man dead. The victim, Paul Dean Sammons was run over on Wednesday morning outside Malla’s Sizzling Snacks on Dunston Enterprise Park, according to Chronicle Live.
Witnesses say that Sammons was struck by a Renault Megane that failed to stop in the roadway. In the wake of the incident, seven people were arrested as part of the investigation, and it is believed that a 36-year-old man was the driver of the vehicle, but his identity has not been revealed by police.
Detective inspector Graeme Barr, of Northumbria Police, said that after speaking to witnesses, it is believed that the driver intentionally hit the victim, and thus the case is being treated as a murder.
“We have spoken to a number of witnesses, and we believe that the vehicle was driven at Paul intentionally, and so we are treating his death as murder,” Barr said.
“A number of people remain in police custody at this time and there has been significant police activity in the area around the enterprise park throughout the day. Those enquiries will continue as we try to build up a picture of what led up to the collision that took place this morning,” he added.
This is the second fatal hit-and-run accident that we have reported on this week. In another case, a man who was identified as Kashif Khan killed a 59-year-old great-grandad named Andell Goulbourne in a hit-and-run, but then he fled the country, and police are still searching for information on where he might be. Luckily, the suspect in this more recent case is actually behind bars awaiting trial.
Anyone with information on the incident is being asked to contact officers online at the Northumbria Police website quoting reference number 179 160920.
You can also call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
