Man dies when his car rolls over him in Kansas City, Kan.
A 62-year-old man died Tuesday morning when his car ran over him at his house in Kansas City, Kan.
The victim was Cleo Williams Sr., who had worked for 12 years at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kansas City, Kan. Williams had recently been promoted from sous chef to food and beverage director/executive chef.
“It is a detrimental loss for us that Cleo has passed away,” said Kathryn Phillips, general manager of the hotel. “He was an amazing man. Anybody who knew him knew how much he loved his family, faith and work.”
Williams had several children and grandchildren. He loved the Kansas City Royals and cooking. Phillips described Williams’ food as amazing, especially his barbecue brisket. He was headed into work to prepare a big banquet when he died.
“He was just an awesome person to know,” Phillips said. “I can’t believe what happened.”
The incident happened about 6 a.m. at Williams’ house in the 1000 block of Washington Boulevard as he prepared to leave for work.
His car had mechanical problems. To get going each day, he had to start the car, put it into gear, place something on the brake pedal to keep the car from moving and get out and adjust something under the hood, said Officer Thomas Tomasic, a Police Department spokesman.
“We believe that when he did that, the object he used to hold the brake came off and the car ran over him, killing him,” Tomasic said.
Police believe Williams might have used a cane to attempt to secure the brake pedal.
“A lot of people do what they have to do or what they can do so they can continue to live,” Tomasic said.
“In this instance, he used his best means of transportation — his car — which wasn’t the greatest thing in the world. He had a system set up to where he could continue to use it. He probably couldn’t afford to get it fixed, but it worked well for him. Unfortunately, it was very unsafe.”
Robert A. Cronkleton: 816-234-4261, @cronkb
This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 7:58 AM with the headline "Man dies when his car rolls over him in Kansas City, Kan.."