The girl was sitting in the back seat of the running vehicle while her family went inside to get food on Saturday when Kevin Palmer, 34, got into the driver’s seat and took off, Wichita police said in a news release.
The teen tried to get out of the vehicle while it was moving but was caught in the seat belt and dragged, police said. Someone saw the SUV, called 911 and followed the vehicle.
Palmer stopped the SUV and ran away, then was captured by arriving officers. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
“This is one of the saddest cases I have been associated with in my over 28 years of law enforcement,” Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said in the release.
The girl was not immediately identified.
Palmer is charged with felony murder. It was unclear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
