Hit-and-run driver kills man and then drives for TWO MILES with victim lodged in his windshield before dumping his body in a quiet residential street
- The killer casually smoked a cigarette as he removed the body from his hood and dumped it on the side of the road
- Friends of Franklin Mendez, 28, have set up a gofundme page to help pay for his funeral
Police in Maryland are looking for a driver who was casually strolling around his car before dislodging a corpse from the windshield, smoking a cigarette and driving away.
Shocked neighbors called Prince George’s County police shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday when they saw the body of Franklin Mendez lying half-naked and dead in a ditch outside their home on Ardwick Ardmore Road.
Disbelieving officers realized the 28-year-old from New Carrollton had been hit by the car on Annapolis Road earlier that morning and drove two miles down the highway before the driver turned onto the quiet side street.
Ring footage was captured at the moment the driver stopped outside the 7500 block and residents fear he is a local resident.
Undeterred by the bright street lights, he took the time to remove the wedged bodywork from his battered car before making a U-turn and heading off with a large hole in the windscreen.
Franklin Mendez was carried on the hood of a car for two miles after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver near his home in Maryland
Doorcam footage captures the moment the driver stops on Ardwick Ardmore Road and removes the body from his windscreen
The driver was apparently not deterred by street lights and porch lights on the outside road
Police believe Mendez had been involved in a traffic accident on the 8900 block of Annapolis Road when he was struck by the silver Honda.
They asked for help finding the driver and say his victim was dead when they arrived.
“All his clothes were gone from the waist down,” said the neighbor whose camera captured the incident.
“I called the police and the police came, but when I looked at the camera it turned out he was taking his time, that’s why I think he probably knows the area,” she said Fox 5.
“He took his time getting out of the car, walked around and stayed around there for a few minutes, and when he came back, he got in the car, lit a cigarette or something.
“And then he made a U-turn in front of my house.”
A huge hole in the windshield is visible on the Honda Civic as the driver waves away and drives away
Police found Mendez dead in the road when they arrived shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday
Neighbors fear that he has chosen their path to get rid of his victim because he lives among them
Friends of the El Salvador-born digital creator have a gofundme page to help pay for his funeral.
The car involved in the incident is believed to be a gray 2011 to 2017 Honda Civic with a large white decal on the top of the rear window, police said.
The car has damage to the front bumper and fender on the passenger side and has a hole in the windshield.
They asked anyone with information to call the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit at 301-731-4422.