79-Year-Old Army Veteran in ‘Frail' Health Dies After Being Dragged During Carjacking, Hours Before Meeting Family for Dinner
Authorities said Norman had been vacuuming the back of his car when the carjacker got in the driver's seat and started dragging him along
Officers eventually tracked down the suspect, Ryan Hewitt, 29, who was arrested and booked on charges of carjacking and murderA grandfather and Army veteran was killed after a carjacking incident in California — just hours before he was supposed to meet his family for dinner.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced via a press release that James Norman, a 79-year-old Corona resident, was the victim in the attempted robbery of his SUV, which took place on Monday, May 12.
Authorities said deputies from the Norco Sheriff's Station were dispatched around 12:30 p.m. local time to a business along Hidden Valley Parkway, where they spoke with witnesses and reviewed video surveillance footage regarding the incident.
Members of the Corona Police Department eventually located a man, identified as Norman, 'east of the initial incident.' They said he was 'suffering from traumatic injuries consistent with being ejected from a vehicle.'
Authorities told KABC-TV and KTLA that Norman had been vacuuming the back of his Chevrolet Trailblazer when a suspect got into the driver's seat and drove off, leaving the owner dangling from the SUV's back door.
Norman was allegedly dragged about a half-mile up the road before he was eventually ejected from the vehicle, the police told the outlets.
After he was found, Norman was "transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased," the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said, per the release.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Once located by police, Norman was transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Investigators determined that he had died due to the injuries he had sustained from the carjacking, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said, per the release.
After members of Riverside County Sheriff's Office Central Homicide Unit took over the investigation, they were able to track down Norman's SUV in Riverside before detaining a man identified as 29-year-old Ryan Hewitt, who was found near the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Tyler Street.
Upon further investigation, the sheriff's office said Hewitt, also a Corona resident, was 'arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for carjacking and murder.'
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Although the Riverside County Sheriff's Department does not believe there are any other suspects involved in the incident, they said that the investigation into this case is 'active and ongoing.'
Norman's daughter, Nicole Lauritsen, told KABC-TV that her father was an Army veteran who had been preparing to meet her and her husband for dinner that night.
She said her father 'probably' stopped at an ARCO station 'to clean his car.' She added that 'he was probably waiting for us to call him and say, 'Hey dad, we're on our way now and we're going to come get you.' '
"He didn't have his hearing aids in, so I'm guessing he didn't hear with the vacuum on, and all of a sudden, the car is just backing up," Lauritsen told the outlet. "He was too old and frail to get out before the door slammed on him."
Lauritsen told the outlet that she received a call from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department telling her that her dad had 'been in an accident,' and they needed her help to track down his phone.
She then told them she had placed an AirTag in the vehicle as a way to keep an eye on her father — something that helped the police track down the SUV and catch the suspect.
"I just hope he went quickly and I'm grateful for the people — and I hope to meet them — that surrounded him and protected his body so he wasn't just out in the middle of the road," Lauritsen told KABC-TV.
In a GoFundMe created by Norman's family to raise funds for his funeral, he was described as someone who 'lived a modest, basic life, but also an adventurous life.' His family also said, 'He will be remembered for his resilience, his love of life, and his deep commitment to his family.'
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