Man Dies After He Tries to Drive Over People and They Attack

A man died after he allegedly tried to hit people on a sidewalk with his truck, crashed against a building, and then was pulled out and beaten by the group in Southern California, the AP reports. Melguin Lopez Santos, 40, was asked to leave a business in Hawthorne early Saturday and then argued with someone while walking to his truck, said Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Santos then allegedly intentionally drove the truck onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting a group of patrons before his truck wedged against a tree, the Daily Breeze reported. As the patrons tried to take Santos out of the driver’s seat, he accelerated again and hit the corner of a nearby building, Reynaga said.

The patrons took Santos out of the truck and continued fighting with him as Hawthorne police arrived, sheriff's Deputy Grace Medrano said. He suffered blunt-force trauma, Medrano said, and died at the scene. The incident was captured on surveillance video, but the footage was grainy and the fight occurred behind the truck partially out of view, Reynaga said. Most of the people involved in the fight were interviewed by detectives and then released, pending the result of an autopsy. Detectives were waiting for the results of the autopsy to see if Santos may have suffered a medical issue during the fight that led to his death, Reynaga said, adding that the crashes “weren’t that impactful.” Anyone with information is asked to call the LASD Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, CNN reports. (More California stories.)