A Queens man was thrown to his death while clinging to the hood of a car to try to stop thieves who broke into his own SUV in broad daylight, according to cops.
Mauro Chimbay, 43, was left with severe head trauma after being tossed by the fleeing thieves he’d tried to stop in East Elmhurst at around 3 p.m. Wednesday, said the NYPD, which is still hunting the two suspects who fled.
He’d clung to the hood of their white BMW after seeing one of them rummaging through his parked Toyota Highlander as he played volleyball in a park at 25th Avenue and 85th Street, a pal with him, Kevin Gonzalez, told CBS New York.
“They broke the window of the car, and then they tried to go away with something from the vehicle,” Gonzelez said.
When Chimbay confronted the thief, the suspect jumped into a white BMW driven by another person, according to police.
Chimbay held onto the hood and was then thrown from the vehicle as it sped away, suffering severe head trauma, the NYPD said.
“He was hanging on to the hood of the car, and then he just stopped and when he stopped, he hit himself against the rim of the car over there,” Gonzalez told the outlet.
Surveillance video showed the suspects’ BMW driving away and bystanders coming to the aid of the victim bleeding on the ground.
“We tried to help him as much as we could, but he was in very bad condition,” González said.
Another witness, Betania Reyes, said in Spanish that she saw Chimbay “convulsing like he was dying.”
Chimbay was taken by paramedics to NYC Health and Hospitals/ Elmhurst, where he died, police said.
The BMW carrying the suspected thieves was last seen driving northbound on 85th Street. So far, no arrests have been made.
Gonzalez said Chimbay was known and loved in their local tight-knight volleyball community.