The family of a pensioner killed in a hit-and-run crash today asked "What have we done to deserve this?"
Retired mechanical engineer Roberto Lopes Da Silva, 70, was crushed by a stolen VW Golf as he stepped from his parked car outside his home in Hayes on Tuesday.
Two men fled on foot leaving him wedged between his vehicle and the stolen car.
Officers on patrol in a police car had earlier spotted the Golf, whose keys were taken during a house burglary, and followed it at high speeds before calling off the pursuit.
Mr Da Silva's grandson Bernardo Silva, a student at Uxbridge College, has left a string of messages on Twitter, saying: "I will never stop loving you."
Mr Da Silva wrote: "He was the only grandad I had, so why take him away from me and my family? What have we done to deserve this? Life ain't fair, tried to take my mum last year and now have taken my grandad. Why?"
Jordan Carss, an 18-year-old grandson of Mr Da Silva who lives in Harrow and Wealdstone, added: "You're going to a better place now. Look down and guide us all from heaven. Sleep tight x."
A neighbour who called paramedics said Mr Da Silva, who came to England from Cape Verde, had moved into the house in Moray Avenue in December. He is thought to have lived there with his daughter and her young son.
A post-mortem examination identified the cause of death as severe trauma to the spine.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Lawrence of Scotland Yard's homicide and serious crime command today appealed for anyone who saw the Golf before the crash, or the men fleeing, to call the incident room on 020 7321 7228.
