JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 24-year-old St. Johns County man was found dead early Sunday morning on Ricky Drive in the city's Mandarin neighborhood, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Traffic homicide investigators said they believe the man, later identified as Ryan Scott McKeller, was hit and killed by a car just before 4 a.m.
According to the police report, McKeller was found under his parked SUV, and debris, including a wiper blade and a mirror from a white vehicle, was found near the body.
Family members said McKeller was on top of the world, having just bought the SUV. News4Jax was told he was out with his father at a local bar Saturday night and then left to attend a party, hours before he was found dead under his SUV.
Neighbor Kim Gordon said she was hosting a party when first responders showed up in front of her house early Sunday morning.
"We were having a birthday party that night and I was just hoping it wasn't someone from here that got hit," Gordon told News4Jax on Monday. "I was absolutely in tears because the cops wouldn't tell me anything."
It's unclear whether McKeller was invited to that party or was on his way to another party on the block. But Gordon and others who live on Ricky Drive said speeding has been a problem.
McKeller’s family members said they are talking to investigators who said they know the identity of the driver who hit him, and police are trying to get a warrant to search that person's car.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help McKeller's family with funeral expenses.