Two men have been charged following the death of a pedestrian in his 80s who was struck by a car and carried on its roof for up to a mile.
The incident happened at about 12.10pm on Monday 29 December, when the victim is believed to have been hit on the A289 Gads Hill in Gillingham, Kent, by a grey Mercedes estate.
The man was later found on Grange Road in Medway, potentially almost a mile from the point of impact.
Police said the vehicle was discovered nearby, but its two occupants had fled the scene on foot.
Speaking to the BBC, Ralph Belmonte, who has lived on Grange Road for 47 years, said the body was initially discovered by a postman who mistook it for a dummy strapped to the roof of a moving car.
“It was only on his return to drop the rest of the mail off that he saw [the body] on the road and approached it thinking that it might have been a dummy and it could create a problem, an accident,” Mr Belmonte told the BBC.
“And as he went to turn it over, he realised it was actually a body.”
He added that the area was generally quiet, telling the BBC: “It’s as safe as anybody’s area really, until something like this happens, you know – everything’s safe until it becomes unsafe.
A police cordon was in place on The Strand roundabout
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“It’s not an area known for high crime rate, but it can happen anywhere.”
On Friday morning, Kent Police said Albert Matraxhiu, 28, of Orange Hill Road in Edgware, north London, had been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Erald Paci, 29, of Five Way Court in Chatham, Kent, was charged with perverting the course of justice.
Police said both men are Albanian nationals and have been remanded in custody to appear in court on Friday.