JERICHO, N.Y., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A New York teen died after he stepped onto a running board of a friend's sport utility vehicle as it began to drive away, witnesses told police.
Seventeen-year-old Matthew Ravner had been chatting with friends in the parking lot of the Jericho High School Friday and for an unknown reason stepped on the running board and was thrown under the Ford Excursion, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.
"(Ravner) slipped off and his head was run over," said Nassau County Detective Sgt. Dennis Barry. "They heard the thump and immediately the car was brought to a stop, and witnesses described him as almost pirouetting as he fell to the ground, probably trying to keep his balance."
The high school senior was rushed to Syosset Community Hospital, but he was declared dead. Investigators have called it a "tragic accident."
