Family seeks answers after crowd attacks driver who nearly hit them in California

A 40-year-old man beaten by a crowd in California early Saturday after authorities said he crashed his pickup truck trying to ram them “did not deserve” to die, his family says.

Melguin Lopez Santos of Los Angeles died of blunt force trauma following the 2 a.m. incident in Hawthorne, McClatchy News reported.

“I feel like this was no accident, he was murdered,” wife Monica Perez told KTLA. “I want the truth.”

Lopez Santos had four children, sister-in-law Ilene Perez told The Daily Breeze.

“He did not deserve this,” she told the publication. “Whatever happened, it shouldn’t have gotten that far.”

Lopez Santos had been asked to leave a Hawthorne business following an argument, but returned in his pickup truck, McClatchy News reported.

He’s accused of trying to hit a crowd on the sidewalk outside the business with his truck before crashing into a tree. The crowd tried to pull him from the truck but he sped away, slamming into the wall of a liquor store.

The crowd dragged him from the truck and beat him, McClatchy News reported. When Hawthorne police arrived, they found Lopez Santos dead.

The family says they do not excuse his actions, but say it’s “not fair” that his children are left without their father, KTLA reported.

“I just feel like somebody’s hiding something,” Monica Perez told KNBC. “If anybody has any information, please come forward. We’re hurting.”

Investigators ask that anyone with information call 323-890-5500.

This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Family seeks answers after crowd attacks driver who nearly hit them in California."