A man in Sanford, Maine, is dead after a car plowed onto a baseball field during a game Friday night, hit him and sped off.
Witnesses told WCSH that the man, 68-year-old Douglas Parkhurst, pushed kids out of the way before he was hit.
Fifty-one-year-old Carol Sharrow allegedly drove her car into the baseball park through the main gate and drove on to the field around 5 p.m. on Friday night, police said.
There were about 200 people in the stands and on the field at the time.
"There was a ballgame going on at the time, so the stands were full," Sanford police Cpl. Matthew Gagne told WCSH. "There were kids out on the field at the time as well."
The car drove erratically around the ball field, struck a closed gate and sped toward the open main gate, hitting Parkhurst before speeding off.
One witness playing basketball nearby said Parkhurst jumped in front of children nearby to make sure they were not hurt.
"After the car got off the field, [the driver] came to the gate and the older guy pushed the kids right out of the way. He took the hit for the kids," Justin Clifton told WCSH.
Parkhurst died on the way to the hospital, police said.
"We can't even have kids play baseball without someone getting hurt. You get very angry as well. You just have a lot of emotions when you see that," Clifton said.
Sharrow has been charged with manslaughter, but police said other charges might follow.
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