ST. LOUIS – Detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are searching for a hit-and-run driver who killed a man in a motorized wheelchair over the weekend.
The tragic event occurred just before 8 p.m. at the intersection of Goodfellow Boulevard and St. Louis Avenue, near Barrett Brothers Park, according to a police spokesperson.
The victim, Govan Kenny Bonaparte, was attempting to cross the street in his wheelchair when a driver struck and dragged him for several blocks before fleeing the scene.
“There had to be people on the street. He was lying in the road and no one stopped,” Gayle Strickland, Govan’s mother, said.
Govan’s family and friends said they were planning to celebrate his birthday, but now they have to plan his funeral.
“I said we are going to have fun on Monday, probably going to have deliveries coming here; birthday presents, stuff we bought him,” Strickland said.
Police said Bonaparte was struck and killed about a block away from his home.
“I want this person found! What kind of human being runs over someone and drags them 1,000 feet down the road?” Strickland said. “His wheelchair was at the crosswalk and his body was at Goodfellow Place at the bus stop. That’s 1,000 feet!”
Tim Townsend, who lives in the area and rides his motorized wheelchair, wants drivers to slow down.
“I’m sad this happened. I be down here sometimes, and I try and watch my surroundings of cars pass me up and hoping they don’t hit me,” Townsend said. “Whoever did it needs to turn themselves in, cause it did not make sense for them to keep going.”
Bonaparte’s family said he was a father and loving son and they want the driver held accountable.
“Turn yourself in. You have to have a conscious. You have to feel something. You killed a human being,” Strickland said.
Police ask that anyone with information calls the North Patrol Division at 314-444-0001 for a District 5 detective. Anyone who wants to remain anonymous and/or is interested in a possible reward can call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).