Hit and Run Suspect Apprehended

A 20-year-old man was arrested in connection with a Rhode Island fight where another man was dragged and run over by an SUV in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart.

Police arrested Patrick J. Oliveira at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence after police learned that he was being treated there. Reports say that police believe Oliveira was being treated for injuries incurred during the fight in which the man was hit and dragged during a confrontation between youths in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart.

Employees at the Wal-Mart noticed a fight in the parking lot. Reports say the youths were all from one of two cars. The called police when they witnessed people converge on a white SUV.

The SUV then tried to escape the altercation by driving away, but one of the group, Jack P. Decker, 22, apparently got caught by the SUV, and was dragged by the vehicle. The SUV struck a parked car in the lot, as Decker may have been run over during the collision.

Reports say police believe the incident may have begun as a narcotics transaction and that those involved may have a history of conflict with each other. Reports said they were also seeking two or perhaps three young men and one young woman ranging in age from late teens to mid-20’s who may have been at the scene.

Oliveira was being held at the Warwick Police Station; Decker was in critical condition at Rhode Island hospital, reports say.