Driver accused of trying to mow down crowd dragged from vehicle and beaten to death

The man had earlier been kicked out of a bar for 'being a nuisance'

A driver accused of trying to run over a crowd of people on a sidewalk in southern California was dragged out of his pickup truck and beaten to death. Around 2am on Saturday, the man, identified as Melguin Lopez Santos, was asked to leave Rock It Sports Lounge and Grill on Hawthorne Boulevard in Los Angeles county for “being a nuisance”. The 40-year-old, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, returned in his vehicle with police receiving multiple calls that Santos was trying to run people over. Santos crashed into a tree and then rammed into a building, having lost control of his vehicle. A group of people then pulled him out of his pickup truck, CBS Los Angeles reported, and beat him. When authorities arrived at the scene Santos was dead. As of Sunday morning, no arrests had been made. Authorities have identified four people involved in the fight who are cooperating. “Hawthorne Police officers saw the driver lying on the ground, suffering what appeared to be blunt force trauma,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in its statement. “Paramedics provided life-saving measures, but [Santos] was pronounced deceased on scene.” While the incident was captured on CCTV, the footage is said to be grainy and the incident occurred behind the truck, which was partially out of view, Lieutenant Hugo Reynaga, an official from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, told Daily Breeze. "You could see there was a fight going on, but you couldn’t tell who was doing what," he added. Investigators are waiting for an autopsy report but suspect that Santos might have medical issues that led to his death during the fight.

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