A man was killed early Saturday morning when he rolled his SUV in the parking lot of a north Phoenix bar after refusing offers for rides from witnesses and a cabbie, authorities said.

Witnesses told police that Caleb Schmidt, 21, had been drinking late Friday and into Saturday morning at a bar on Happy Valley Road.

When Schmidt got up to leave at about 2:30 a.m., several people tried to talk him out of driving, police said. One person even reportedly called a cab company. They followed Schmidt to his 1999 Dodge Durango to try to stop him from driving. Authorities said that a taxi pulled into the parking lot, blocking Schmidt's Durango.

According to police, witnesses said Schmidt sat behind the wheel of the SUV with the driver-side door open as he threatened the cab driver. The cab driver moved the taxi and parked.

Police gave the rest of this account:

Someone reached into the driver's side of the Durango and tried to get Schmidt's keys. Schmidt floored the Durango with the driver's door still open. He was apparently not wearing a seat belt.

He immediately lost control. The Durango did a 180-degree-turn, struck a concrete median and hit a tree, rolling onto Schmidt, who had fallen out of the SUV's open door.

Schmidt's blood alcohol content could not be determined at the time.