MESA, Ariz. -- An elderly man was struck by a hit-and-run driver and as he lay dying, thieves made off with his groceries.
Mesa police said the victim was waiting for a bus after grocery shopping Tuesday evening.
Witnesses said the driver of a dark GMC pickup, later identified as 23-year-old Alan Ricardo Flores-Ocon, swerved off the road and onto the sidewalk near Main Street and Horne.
Flores-Ocon fled the scene after crashing through the bus stop, police said.
Boro Mitrovich said he was sitting close to the old man when the victim was hit. "He didn't even know what happened," said Mitrovich, 51, of Mesa, who dove out of the way. "The old man took the brunt of it," he said.
The elderly man was thrown across a parking lot, landing in front of a restaurant and a pawn and loan shop.
It was there that witnesses said people in the parking lot "began picking up the groceries and taking them," said Mesa police spokesman Detective Steve Berry.
As he was checking on the victim, Mitrovich said his groceries were also stolen. "One minute it's on the ground, the next minute it's gone," Mitrovich said.
If caught, the people who stole the groceries could face theft charges, Berry said.
Police, using a helicopter, tracked the Flores-Ocon to an apartment complex less than two miles from the hit-and-run scene.
By the time police got there, he had ditched the truck and fled, Berry said.
The front of the truck was mangled and missing a headlight. A white plastic shopping bag was still stuck to the grill.
Flores-Ocon likely will face felony charges of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, Berry said. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call Mesa police.
Police didn't release the identity of the victim.
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