Three men have been arrested in connection with the manslaughter of a have-a-go-hero pensioner who collapsed and died after reportedly chasing thieves on his mobility scooter.
The pensioner, 77, was said to have been riding along the pavement in the High Street in Crawley, West Sussex when he spotted several men carrying bottles which they had apparently just stolen from a Marks & Spencer store.
The brave pensioner gave chase along the pavement and after an altercation, suffered a cardiac arrest and fell unconscious, according to residents.
The 77-year-old man is believed to have suffered a heart attack following the altercation which happened near a block of toilets in Crawley, West Sussex
He was airlifted to hospital after paramedics who rushed to the scene tried in vain to save his life.
Detectives said three men had been arrested originally on suspicion of robbery but following the OAP’s death, they were re-arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
A woman who runs the charity shop immediately next to where the confrontation happened, said: ‘The man on the mobility scooter chased after them and then it came to a confrontation here outside the shop. Then he suffered a heart attack.
‘What I do know is that the ambulance crews were working on him from about half past three, right up until when I left the shop at 4.30pm.
‘The day before we had a shoplifter in here and it was ridiculous,’ she said.
The manager of a nearby fast-food chain, that also overlooks the scene, said: ‘We didn’t realise at first that there had been an incident. We just thought an old man had gone down because of the heat.
‘It was only when the huge number of police and ambulances started arriving did we realised that it was something way more serious.’
Outside a local care home and community centre, other elderly members of the community were equally concerned about what had happened.
One elderly woman said: ‘It is disgusting, you can’t even go out in the day now.’
Paramedics treated the man for the cardiac arrest before he was stabilised and flown by air ambulance from the scene in The Boulevard, the High Street, Crawley, to a major trauma hospital in London where he died soon after.
The arrested men, a 26-year-old from Crawley and two others of no fixed address, aged 41 and 25 years, are now in police custody and are being quizzed by officers.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said the force was called by paramedics and believed the pensioner had been involved in an argument.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: ‘Police were called to The Boulevard at 3.48pm by ambulance service colleagues who were dealing with a 77-year-old man who had fallen from a mobility scooter.
‘It is believed that shortly beforehand he had been involved in an altercation close to the public toilets near to Marks and Spencer.
‘He was taken to St George’s Hospital in London, where he died shortly before 9pm. The incident is now being investigated as manslaughter.
‘We have spoken to a few witnesses and expect to speak to more shortly as we seek to establish the exact circumstances and sequence of events.
‘Until we have got a clearer picture of what led to the gentleman’s sad death, we are not in a position to provide any further details at this time.
‘A 36-year-old man from Crawley and two men, aged 41 and 25 years, both of no fixed address, were arrested on suspicion of robbery and have since been further arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. They remained in custody.’
Passerby Vanessa Smith said she saw the emergency service descend onto the town and said: ‘I saw the emergency services giving CPR on this poor man.
‘May he RIP and hope the culprit(s) are caught. Thoughts are with this poor man’s family.’
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