Nicholas Malott, 22, was on his way to pick up his brother, Dusty Seiler, at their job at the Amazon warehouse in Plainfield just before 6 a.m. Friday.
Seiler described the moment when he heard a car behind them.
“It was, I mean, a loud motor. By the time I had looked, it was already too late,” Seiler said.
A GMC pickup truck driver hit them.
“I tumbled for almost 50-feet and as soon as I had the chance to I hopped up and looked around. I (saw) him (lying) in the road all twisted up,” Seiler said.
Seiler saw the pickup truck run over his brother.
“He didn’t have a pulse. He wasn’t breathing. I gave him CPR. He started coughing, lost the pulse again. I kept giving CPR about another two minutes. I brought him back. He opened his eyes,” Seiler said.
Malott was taken to IU Methodist hospital. His leg was amputated. He had internal bleeding and went into cardiac arrest. Malott did not survive his injuries.
“I don’t know what to think. Yeah, you have your little break down moments. Every once in a while, you start to lose it,” Seiler said.
The driver of the pickup truck told detectives he was thinking about switching lanes when he looked forward, but did not have time to react nor hit his brakes. He also told detectives he takes Cymbalta, an anti-anxiety medication which can cause severe drowsiness.
“At that point, the guy was sitting there. (He came) up to me. (He said), 'What are you doing in the middle of the road?' I said, ‘Sir, we were on the side of the road, flashers on, were wearing (our) vests. How could you not see us?'” Seiler said.
Witnesses told authorities they saw the pickup truck speeding. IMPD said a police officer has to witness the person speeding, in order for them to be cited for that.
The driver of the pickup truck refused to have his blood drawn. Because he refused, he automatically loses his driving privileges for a year. IMPD said he was given a field sobriety test and there weren’t any indications he was impaired. He has not been charged.
The case is still under investigation.
“His family can’t take it back. He can’t take it back. It’s something that’s not given a second chance,” Seiler said.
Seiler stressed he and his brother were wearing vests. He wants people to pay attention when they are driving.
“He had a yellow one of these (vests). I had this one. We had the lights on (in) the car. The flashers, dome lights, everything on,” Seiler said.
Seiler said his relationship with Malott was close.
“For a brother, I mean, you couldn’t ask for anything more,” Seiler said.
Fox59 called the driver’s home. A woman picked up. She said the driver was not home and then hung up.
