CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Family and friends of John Lucas, the man who was run over by a Kanawha County ambulance earlier this month, are demanding justice.
A group gathered Monday afternoon outside the Kanawha County Courthouse and Public Annex buildings, holding signs that read “Justice for John.”
Lucas was killed Thursday, April 16, in Elkview after authorities said he jumped in front of an ambulance and was struck as the crew drove away from the scene. Family and friends are calling for the two employees of the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority to face criminal charges in connection with Lucas’s death.
Lucas’s niece, Haley Harvey, said he was a wonderful person through and through.
“He was kind, compassionate, giving, forgiving, a true one-of-a-kind person that genuinely followed our lord and savior Jesus Christ and loved each and every one of us as he loved himself,”
Kristen Kinder said she met John nearly four years ago. She said she owns an animal rescue and received an emergency call about 10 puppies.
She said that on her way back to Charleston with the puppies, she was hit by a truck that went around a curve and lost control. She said she was thrown into a ditch with the puppies. She said John stopped and helped her out of the ditch.
“He instantly began helping me, he took the shirt off his back and wrapped it around the sickest puppy, the one that was dying on me and left that shirt around that puppy until he had us in heat, on the road, and on the way to vet,” she said.
Kinder also said he helped find someone willing to tow her car out of the ditch while they continued to Charleston.
Another friend of John’s said she had known him since she was a child. She said she had trouble with other kids in the neighborhood, and John told them to leave her alone.
She said he should be remembered for his selflessness.
“Being a light in the dark, being a light when I was being overlooked, and being brave,” she said.
Harvey said that although John suffered a traumatic brain injury from a 1998 car crash, he still lived a life devoted to helping others.
She said she will live as he did.
“I will be authentic like my Uncle John was, I will forever be free like my Uncle John was, I will always speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves because of my Uncle John,” Harvey said.
The one friend said the most frustrating part was authorities releasing information before they had all the facts.
“The negligence, the nonchalant, the trying to feed the public a lie before you even did an investigation, I’m disgusted,” she said.
Initial reports included statements from the two-member female crew that Lucas was allegedly lurking around the ambulance station in Elkview in the early morning hours and may have been in possession of a knife. Surveillance video in the area showed Lucas entering the roadway as the ambulance approached. The ambulance appears to have stopped and then moved forward after making contact with Lucas, who fell beneath the front of the vehicle.
He was found critically injured along U.S. Route 119 and died a short time later.
Last Tuesday, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office held a news conference to address the public about the incident.
Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said during the conference that investigators were reviewing about 250 pieces of evidence. She also said the initial reports might not include the full story.
“As the investigation is developing it has become clear that the initial accounts of the incident do differ from the evidence reviewed thus far,” Rusnak said. “In our search for the truth and the pursuit of justice a full and fair investigation is underway.”
Harvey said the support the family has received from the community and others has been incredible to see.
“The amount of people who this has touched and the amount of people who are speaking up for justice and righteousness, the bravery of these people, it is something that is, I could have never imagined it, and it was because of who John was that made these people feel this way,” she said.