An Elgin teenager died yesterday when he was run over by his car in front of his home.

Thomas Jason “T. J.” Brown, 15, a rising sophomore at Lugoff-Elgin High School, was pinned under the front axle of his 1986 Nissan sometime between midnight at 7 a.m., said Elgin Police Chief Jerry Dyson.

“It looks as though he had the car parked and out of gear, and the emergency brake not set,” Dyson said. “The car started rolling and he ran around in front to stop it and his feet slipped on the grass.”

An Elgin police officer found the body under the car in the front yard, Dyson said. The key was in the ignition, the chief said, but the car wasn’t running.

Kershaw County Coroner George Kornegay, who ruled the death accidental, said Brown and the victim’s sister were watching television together early yesterday morning when Brown went to the car “maybe to get a Coke.”

“He may have gone somewhere and come back, Dyson said. “We don’t know.”

The car was parked on a grade in the driveway of the home at 1001 Cherry Lane, Kornegay said.

A family member discovered the body yesterday morning and called the police shortly before 7 a.m., Dyson said.

The coroner said Brown suffered extensive head and chest injuries.

Brown was a member of the high school soccer team and was active at Blaney Baptist Church.