SEATTLE — Seattle Police have arrested a man accused of running over a 31-year-old during an altercation in north Seattle over the weekend.
Detectives say the incident took place off N 137th Street and Aurora Avenue. Based on the arrest report, investigators say 31-year-old Amani Wheaton got in front of the suspect’s pickup truck and started hitting the vehicle with a machete which police say then forced the suspect to try and drive off.
The suspect then allegedly ran over Wheaton and dragged him down the street. Wheaton was treated on scene and rushed to Harborview Medical Center where he later died from his injuries.
“So senseless. It’s senseless,” said Ana Williams, Amani’s mother. “To just purposedly drive over somebody and leave them. I don’t get it,” she continued.
Williams says she was contacted by friends of Wheaton about it. She says when they got to the hospital, it took hospital staff a while to identify her son.
“And they couldn’t find him because he was brought in as a Jon Doe. And finally they found him. He was actually getting ready to be taken down to the morgue,” Williams said.
Williams describes her son as someone who loved his family, animals, really all people.
“He was my only child. He had such a big heart,” she said.
Williams says several people who saw what happened have reached out to her and the family. She says she is forever grateful to know how many people cared about her son.
“It just reaffirms that he was a good guy. He had a big heart and people loved him,” Williams said.
Williams says they plan to host a vigil in the area where it happened Wednesday night. The suspect in the case is expected to make their first court appearance in King County Court on Wednesday.
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