Matthew Denice was riding his motorcycle when he was hit by a truck and became trapped under the wheel arch.
A motorcyclist died after being dragged for more than a quarter of a mile trapped under the truck of an alleged drunk driver.
Horrified witnesses banged on the driver’s window in an attempt to force him to stop.
Others chased the vehicle down the road yelling at its driver, Nicolás Guamán, to stop.
Police said the 23-year-old victim, Matthew Denice, was still alive when he became trapped in the wheel arch of Guaman’s truck.
But he died from serious injuries he suffered when he was dragged along the road.
Guamán, a 34-year-old illegal immigrant from Ecuador, showed no emotion when told that the motorcyclist he hit was dead.
He failed a roadside breathalyzer test after being pulled over by police.
The horrific accident took place when Guamán allegedly ran a red light in Milford, Massachusetts.
He hit Denice but couldn’t stop.
“Families grilling outside and sitting on their porches heard the crash and about a half-dozen people chased the truck on foot and banged on the door trying to get the driver to stop,” Milford Police Sergeant Mike Pighetti said.
The victim’s body was dragged for more than a quarter of a mile before Guaman ran off the road and the body fell from the wheel arch.
Witnesses said Guamán, who had his six-year-old son in the Ford truck, then backed over the body.
Guamán tried to flee the scene but was arrested by the police.
Denice was alive when Guaman dragged him away with his truck, Worcester County District Attorney’s spokesman Paul Jarvey said.
He had recently graduated from Framingham State University with a degree in computer science and hoped to work in law enforcement.
His mother Maureen Maloney said her son had his whole life ahead of him.
When asked if she was angry, she said: “I can’t be angry. I’m so devastated about not having my son.”
Denice’s stepfather, Michael Maloney, called the incident a “murder” and said Denice was a “great all-American girl.”
The family said they want Guamán to be prosecuted in the United States and receive a long sentence, rather than simply deported.
Milford Police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin said Guaman told police he was in the country illegally. Homeland Security is investigating and has issued an arrest warrant, which would be activated when the judicial process is complete.
He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the vehicular manslaughter charge.
Guamán has been charged with negligent vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury and death, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, failure to stop for police, driving without a license , failure to yield at a stop sign, resisting arrest and wanton or reckless conduct that creates a risk to a child, according to court documents.