Victim could have died earlier than first thought

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The county medical examiner said Tuesday that a homeless man who was struck by a car and lodged in the broken windshield likely only lived for a few hours with a nearly amputated leg -- not a few days as police have estimated.

Police had said Gregory Glenn Biggs, 37, probably died two or three days after his head was trapped in the windshield during the hit-and-run accident.

But Tarrant County's coroner, Dr. Nizam Peerwani, said Biggs likely would have died within hours, or possibly a day, from blood loss. Peerwani said he will review police and crime lab reports to determine a more exact time of death.

Chante J. Mallard, a 25-year-old nurses aide, told police she hit a man along a Fort Worth highway on Oct. 26, then ignored his cries for help as she drove home with him stuck to her car, according to an affidavit.

Authorities say Mallard left Biggs to die in her garage and her friends later dumped his body in a park.

Two men found Biggs' body Oct. 27.

Police spokesman Duane Paul said another woman tipped officers that she was at a party in mid-February and overheard Mallard discussing the accident and how it had taken Biggs days to die.

"We're trying to sort through everything and determine exactly what the time frame was," Paul said Tuesday.

Authorities initially said Biggs would have lived if he had received medical attention. He had no internal injuries.

Mallard is charged with murder and being held on $250,000 bail. Her attorney, Mike Heiskell, did not return telephone messages seeking comment Tuesday.