A Long Island gas station attendant was killed in a hit-and-run while allegedly trying to stop a man from leaving without paying for $22 worth of gas, authorities said.
Cemal Dagdeviren, 59, of Levittown, New York, died at a hospital Monday morning.
Dagdeviren was "intentionally" run over by a man driving a black SUV who left the Pit Stop Gas station in South Hempstead without paying, Nassau County Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said during a news conference.
Police said the suspect drove up to a gas pump just before 7:30 a.m. ET on Monday and reportedly asked a gas station attendant to fill up his SUV.
Fitzpatrick said the attendant became suspicious because there were no registration tags on the vehicle and the driver was displaying "strange" behavior.
"They stopped at $22 and asked him to pay at that time," Fitzpatrick told reporters. "The attendant said to pull over to the side."
The suspect then went inside and allegedly tried to pay for the gas with a fake credit card but was "turned down," according to Fitzpatrick. When the man left and got in his vehicle, Dagdeviren tried to stop him from driving away.
In footage captured on the gas station's surveillance video, Dagdeviren is seen standing on the side of the car by the driver's side. When the suspect starts to drive away, Dagdeviren runs around to the front of the car.
"This male accelerates and then runs over our victim, causing his death," Fitzpatrick said.
Dagdeviren, who was married with two children, died from a severe head injury, according to police.
They are now searching for the suspect and asking the public to keep a look out for the SUV, which has damage to the front driver's door and is missing a headlight on that side.
"My dad was really a hard worker," Dagdeviren's son told NBC New York in an interview. "Everybody loved him in that community. He was there 20 years; people loved him."
