A Putnam man is facing charges after police said he hit and killed a person in town early Sunday morning, officials said.
Police were called ot the Quarterback Club Bar and Grill around 2 a.m. on the report of a vehicle hitting a person and that the person was “bleeding out,” according to officials. When officers got to the scene a few minutes later, they found a 29-year-old man lying in the parking lot, unresponsive. A witness at the scene told responding officers that a vehicle had hit the man.
First responders got to the scene and began giving the man CPR.
The witness at the scene told officers that she was in a casual relationship with the victim and that she expressed concern for her friend who was in the car that struck the man, according to officials.
The witness told police the vehicle was a white SUV and used an app on her phone to bring up her friend’s shared location which revealed the address she was at.
As police went to the home, the witness at the scene told officers that a verbal spat inside the bar went out to the parking lot between her, the victim, the witness’s friend, and the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Branden Livingston.
Officials noted that Livingston and the victim had a family relationship but did not specify the relationship.
The witness said she was trying to pull the victim away while her friend was trying to pull Livingston away.
Police said that according to the witness, Livingston then got into his SUV and the victim went into the passenger seat where the victim continued to “taunt” the suspect.
As the fight escalated to a physical altercation, the witness pulled the victim out of the SUV while Livingston pulled the witness’s friend into his SUV.
The witness told police that while she and the victim were in the parking lot, she heard an engine revving and saw Livingston‘s vehicle driving towards them. The witness jumped out of the way in time, but she said that Livingston “ran right over [the victim] and ran over the median.”
When police got to Livingston’s address, they saw him in a white 2014 Infinity Qx60. Officials said that officers saw blood-like drops on the front of the vehicle. When he was asked about it, Livingston reportedly told officers he didn’t know about it.
The woman who was with Livingston in his SUV told investigators that she felt them “going over a speed bump” but denied seeing the witness or the victim, but had a “bad feeling” that they may have hid them.
When the woman and Livingston got back to the home, Livingston said he was “going back to finish it,” which she believed was to finish the fight with the victim, and that she didn’t think Livingston knew he hit the victim.
Investigators seized Livingston’s vehicle and placed him under custodial arrest. Livingston met with investigators at police headquarters, where he reportedly told them to “look at the cameras to find out what happened.”
Police learned around 7 a.m. that the victim did not survive his injuries. He’s not been identified fully at this time.
Police charged Livingston with first-degree manslaughter, disorderly conduct, and evading responsibility resulting in death and he was held on a $75,000 bond.
