A 24-year-old man died in a bizarre hit-and-run collision in Staten Island yesterday after allegedly jumping on the roof of a car—the driver then sped off, throwing the man off the car and killing him.
The NYPD says Staten Island resident Robert Kunz, 24, followed a 2014 Audi sedan out of a parking lot at 2965 Veterans Road West, near Veterans Road and Tyrellan Avenue, at about 6:23 p.m. yesterday. Kunz allegedly leapt onto the car, clinging to the front hood and windshield—police say the motorist drove northward on Veterans Road "at a high rate of speed," eventually throwing Kunz off the hood.
Kunz was transported to Staten Island University South Hospital and pronounced dead, having suffered significant head and body trauma. Though the driver drove off initially, police say he returned to the scene and has since been arrested—he has been identified as 22-year-old Robert Messina, also of Staten Island.
The SI Advance reports that Kunz got into a dispute with Messina prior to jumping on his car, though it's unclear what the two were arguing over, or whether they knew each other. Police say Messina was driving with a suspended license. He has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, in addition to driving without a license.
