BIDDEFORD — A 31- year-old Biddeford man died Monday afternoon following a parking lot incident that involved a hit and run, according to Maine State Police – and it’s possible his death wasn’t an accident.

State police said they believe an altercation occurred just before 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Play It Again Sports on Alfred Street (Route 111).

The victim, Mathew Perry, was then struck by a blue, vintage Chevy pickup truck carrying construction equipment, Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said this morning.

A blue 1980 Chevy pickup believed to be involved in the death was located overnight and has been impounded, McCausland said.

McCausland said the truck was located in an undisclosed location, and that the driver had been interviewed. The driver’s name has not yet been released.

Perry’s death was not being investigated as a homicide as of this morning.

Biddeford Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk did not confirm Monday whether Perry’s death was due to a motor vehicle accident, but said Biddeford police were in the process of investigating a fatality in the parking lot, which is shared by Play It Again Sports, Gentle Dental and Biddeford Savings Bank.

Investigators with the BPD’s Street Crimes unit were investigating the scene as of 5 p.m. Monday. The victim lay shirtless on the pavement, wearing a neck brace.

Two employees of Play it Again Sports said at about 3 p.m., they heard a loud noise and went outside to find the man’s body laying in the parking lot.

One employee, who wished to be identified only as Tom, said he was walking inside by the store’s doorway when he heard what sounded like a car speeding in the parking lot. When he went outside to check, Tom said, the man’s body lay bloodied on the pavement.

The other employee, who declined to give his name, said police had confiscated footage from the store’s security camera.

The two employees said the security footage – taken from inside the store but facing the parking lot – appeared to show a black or other dark color SUV rushing past the screen before the employees went outside.

McCausland said the man’s body will undergo autopsy by the state medical examiner in Augusta today. Results may be known by this afternoon.

“That will be helpful as we determine the cause of death,” McCausland said.

Earlier in the day Monday, Perry was released from Southern Maine Health Care, which is located next to the parking lot where he died, McCausland said.

It is not known if he was an inpatient or an outpatient, and his reason for being transported to the hospital is not clear.

McCausland said he had been taken to SMHC for an “ailment,” and was released.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.