A man who tried to stop an attempted robbery of his 71-year-old mom in Deltona was intentionally run over twice by the robbery suspect Saturday and critically hurt, deputies said.

  • Man tried to help 71-year-old mom being robbed, deputies say
  • Sheriff's Office: Man yelled at robber, who ran over him twice
  • Man's son punched robbery suspect in face, they said

The man's 26-year-old son also came to their aid, punching the robbery suspect in the face, Volusia County deputies said.

The encounter happened in the driveway of a home in the 2000 block of North Normandy Boulevard just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a release by the Volusia Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said that the 45-year-old man and his mother were in the home's garage when an SUV pulled into the driveway. A man got out and asked them whether they had any gas. The mother told him they didn't have any but offered to let the stranger use her cell phone to make a call. She told deputies that the stranger accepted the cell phone and then asked her if she had any money so he could get a hotel room.

That's when the encounter turned into a robbery, with the stranger demanding money and claiming to have a gun, deputies said.

While the son went into the home, the mom demonstrated to the stranger that she didn't have any money. The stranger then hopped into the mom and son's car with the intent of driving off with it. The son came back outside and armed himself with a hammer.

The stranger got out of their car and got back into the SUV in which he had arrived, and the son got in front of it while yelling and striking the windshield with the hammer.

That’s when the stranger revved the engine, backed up and drove at the man and ran him over. Then the stranger backed up, put the vehicle in drive and ran over the man a second time, deputies said.

The man's 26-year-old son came out of the house and saw what was going on. He started punching the stranger in the face through the open passenger side window.

The stranger then got out of the SUV and back into the mom and son's car, which is where the first deputy to arrive found him, the Sheriff's Office said. First responders found the man who was run over under the SUV with severe trauma to his head, arms and leg. He was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, where as of Sunday he was still in critical, but stable, condition.

Deputies identified the stranger as 45-year-old Charles Pace Jr. of DeLand. Pace has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted armed robbery and one count each of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, burglary, grand theft, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. He's being held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail.