Otis Harris Ran Over Skateboarder Who Struck His Van Following Confrontation, Police Investigating

RAW VIDEO: Van Driver Runs Over Skateboarder

Was it road rage or self-defense?

Raw video taken from a Seattle Metro bus camera Oct. 20 shows the moment a man hits a minivan belonging to Otis Harris with his skateboard. Moments later, Harris steps on the gas and hits the man with his minivan, running him over.

"I had no intention on killing him or nothing like that. I just wanted to diffuse him from hitting me with that board," Harris told KIRO-TV this week.

Harris dragged the trapped skateboarder for about 15 feet before stopping, then witnesses lifted the rear of the van to pull the skateboarder out, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The man was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries to his pelvis.

Harris doesn't regret his actions, and maintains that the skateboarder started the altercation, and that he acted out of fear for his life.

"I thought he was going to hit me, that's when you'll see I took off," Harris told KBOI. "When I thought I was in danger, I hit the gas... I did the right thing. As far as I'm concerned, my conscience is clean."

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the man, whose name has not been released, "smashed the hood of the minivan and shattered the windshield with his skateboard." Harris also claimed the man yelled racial slurs at him.

Harris also captured video of the incident with a car-mounted camera, which he handed over to police. No charges have been filed yet, but according to KOMO, police are investigating the incident as a possible aggravated assault.

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