Angry Driver Who Tried Ramming Into People On Sidewalk Allegedly Beaten To Death By Would-Be Victims

An angry driver who allegedly tried to ram his pickup into a group of people gathered on a sidewalk outside a business in Los Angeles has died after he was pulled out and beaten by the group.

The driver, identified as Melguin Lopez Santos died Saturday morning, Oct. 9. after he allegedly tried to run over the people waiting outside a business in the 14200 block of Hawthorne Boulevard, just north of Rosecrans Avenue with his truck, authorities said.

Santos reportedly missed the group of patrons, crashed against a building, and then was pulled out and thrashed by the crowd.

According to Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Santos was involved in a fight with another person after he was asked to leave the business at about midnight because he was being a nuisance, the Daily Breeze reported.

After the heated argument, Santos got into his truck and then intentionally drove the vehicle onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting the crowd before his truck plowed against a tree.

The Hawthorne police were alerted about the man’s driving just before 12:10 a.m, authorities said.

As the crowd tried to pull Santos out of the driver’s seat, he pumped the gas again and collided with the corner of a nearby building, Reynaga said.

The patrons wrestled him out of the truck and began beating him as Hawthorne police were arriving, Deputy Grace Medrano said.

The responding officers found Santos lying on the ground suffering from blunt force trauma, Medrano said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shocking incident was captured on a grainy surveillance video. However, the fight occurred behind the truck and the incident was partially out of view, Reynaga said.

“You could see there was a fight going on, but you couldn’t tell who was doing what,” he said.

It is unclear how many involved in the fight fled as officers arrived. Detectives questioned several people and later released them, pending the result of the coroner’s autopsy.

Reynaga said the crashes “weren’t that impactful” and the investigators are waiting for the autopsy results to see if Santos suffered some type of medical issue during the scuffle that led to his death.