Death Row records founder Suge Knight was involved in a fatal hit and run yesterday. In the afternoon he got in an altercation on the set of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic of the group N.W.A. About twenty minutes after the fight, Knight drove to the parking lot of a fast food restaurant where he two men with his car, backing up over one man and running him over again as he fled the scene. At least one of the men was reportedly known to Knight, although Knight’s lawyer claims that his client was being attacked by other men and that he accidentally hit these other people with his car. Eyewitnesses claim the incident looked deliberate. The victims were rushed to hospital, with one victim, identified by TMZ as Terry Carter (not the actor, another guy), later dying from his injuries. TMZ reports that Carter arrived with Knight in his truck and was walking up to the passenger side door when he was hit. Knight later abandoned the vehicle and was wanted by police for questioning. Early this morning, Knight turned himself in to L.A. police.

I’ll quote The Week here to sum up the sad situation:

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight ran over two men in a parking lot on Thursday afternoon, killing one of them, after a confrontation on the set of the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton. They are investigating the hit-and-run as a homicide, and Knight’s lawyer, James Blatt, tells NBC News that his client is making arrangements to surrender after what he calls a “tragic accident.”

L.A. Sheriff’s Capt. John Corina told reporters Thursday night that after fighting with two crew members on the set, Knight followed them to Tam’s Burgers 20 minutes later, backed over them in the parking lot, then ran over them again before driving away. Knight co-founded Death Row Records with Dr. Dre in 1991, and has a history of battery and hitting people with cars, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Blatt told The Associated Press that Knight ran over his friends accidentally while fleeing attackers. “He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men, and in an effort to escape he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals,” Blatt said. “We are confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated.”

[From The Week]

So police claim that Knight hit the two men he was arguing with while Knight’s lawyer claims that Knight accidentally hit two men when trying to escape two other people. Hopefully eyewitnesses and video surveillance will be able to clear up what happened.

Reports claim that Knight faces up to 30 years in prison due to his criminal history. He has a long and storied past involving assault, shootings, multiple parole violations and what some claim is a suspicious connection to the murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Knight has also been in prison twice for violating parole. Last August, he was shot six times at a party and survived. In November he pled not guilty to second degree robbery after he was charged with the theft of a female paparazzo’s camera. He was facing up to 30 years for that charge alone and was out on bail and awaiting sentencing. If he’s convicted of this latest charge, he’s likely to go away for a long time.

Suge has been arrested for murder and his bail has been set at $2 million. TMZ has the latest updates.

photo credit: WENN.com, PRPhotos and Pacific Coast News