Huntington Beach police on the lookout for carjacking suspect

Huntington Beach police are seeking the public’s help in finding a man who carjacked a vehicle while attempting to run over its owner outside the Hoag Health Center on Tuesday.

Officers arriving at the center, at 19582 Beach Blvd., just after noon said the victim told them he had left the car running when he walked his mother into the facility, said Jennifer Marlatt, public information officer for the Huntington Beach Police Department.

Another man walked up to the vehicle, got in and began to drive away, but the car’s owner attempted to stop him by standing in the way, Marlatt said. The suspect then drove toward the man, who was thrown off the hood of the car, and proceeded north on Beach Boulevard, she added.

The car was discovered about two hours later, unoccupied in a residential area about a mile away, Marlatt said.

Police waited for the suspect near the car “for a while,” but when no one showed up, they returned it to the owner, the spokeswoman said.

The owner of the car sustained minor injuries but did not need to be taken to the hospital, she said.

Authorities described the suspect as a white male, 30 to 35 years old, 5-foot-9, 140 pounds with brown hair and a gray stubble beard. He was last seen wearing a red flannel shirt, what appeared to be a black flat-bill-style hat and slipper-style shoes.

Because of his appearance, police believe the suspect may have been homeless.

Police are asking that anyone with information call the Huntington Beach Police Department hotline at (714) 375-5066.

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Brittany Woolsey, brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey