Cleveland man falls out of vehicle, is run over in Erie County

VERMILION, Ohio — A Cleveland man was flown by helicopter to a hospital Tuesday night after he fell out of the passenger side of a vehicle and then was run over, the State Highway Patrol says.

A news release from the patrol says the incident occurred just after 10:30 p.m. on U.S. 6 in Vermilion in Erie County. A 50-year-old Huron man was driving a 1995 Dodge Ram pickup truck with a "malfunctioning" passenger door, the patrol says.

The truck pulled out onto U.S. 6 while leaving Patio Tavern Bar and began heading east. The passenger, Maxwell Patfield, 46, of Cleveland, was not wearing a seat belt and fell out of the vehicle as it entered the roadway.

Patfield was run over by the truck after falling out, the patrol says. Patfield first was taken to Firelands Hospital in Sandusky, then flown by helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. No information was released on Patfield's condition.

Alcohol is a suspected factor in the incident, which remains under investigation, the patrol says.