HAWTHORNE (Calif.) A man was killed after he attempted to hit people with his truck. He crashed into a building, then was pulled out by a group of Southern California police officers and beaten.
According to Lt. Hugo Reynaga, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, the man was asked to leave Hawthorne's business early Saturday morning and then argued with another person while walking to his truck.
According to the Daily Breeze, the man drove his truck on the sidewalk and nearly hit a group of patrons.
Reynaga stated that the man accelerated once more and struck the corner of a nearby structure as patrons attempted to remove him from the driver's seat.
According to Grace Medrano, Hawthorne police arrived just as the patrons had taken the driver out of his truck.
Medrano stated that the driver sustained blunt-force trauma. The driver died on the spot.
Reynaga stated that the incident was recorded on surveillance video but that the footage was grainy. The fight behind the truck was partially obscured by the camera.
He told the newspaper that he could clearly see the fight was going on but couldn't tell which party was doing it.
Detectives interviewed most of the participants in the fight and released them pending an autopsy.
Reynaga stated that detectives are still waiting to hear the results of the autopsy. This will help determine if there was a medical issue that may have led to the death. He also said that the crashes were not that significant.
The driver was only identified as a 40-year-old man.
