A mother today told how she held her dying son after he was mown down in a hit-and-run a year ago — as police hunting his killers issued new CCTV.
Father-of-two Liam Dent, 25, was struck at speed by a stolen Ford S Max in Chessington and dragged beneath the car for half a mile suffering “catastrophic” injuries.
He was found by friends shortly after midnight on July 26, 2019.
Stacey Dent, 46, who rushed from her home and was among the first on the scene, told the Standard: “When I arrived, I knew my son wasn’t alive. I could see the absolute destruction of what happened to him.”
Murder detectives said Mr Dent had been out in a pub before a row erupted with the occupants of a grey Volvo V40 at 11.40pm on July 25. Mr Dent and his friends finished their drinks and were walking home at 12.10am when the Ford — in convoy with a black BMW 7 series — ran him down.
The BMW was later recovered by police but the Ford and Volvo were torched a mile away in Epsom. All three cars were stolen and had false number plates.
Detective Inspector Garth Hall said: “It was deliberate, callous and cowardly. Liam stood no chance of defending himself. [He was] trapped underneath the vehicle and dragged for half a mile. They made no attempt to stop and there was no call for the ambulance.”
Mrs Dent added: “The person responsible is living life as normal. This can’t be allowed to happen.
“A lot of people were out that night, saw what happened and who was behind the wheel of the car that took my son’s life. But they’re just so scared to come forward. I understand that but this was a callous murder.”
Mr Dent, who had a son, two, and a ten-year-old daughter, was setting up a mobile Caribbean street food business called Pull Up, Fill Up at the time of his death. Police have arrested 10 men and women as young as 17 in connection with the killing.
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers.
