Juan Perez, 40
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Juan Perez, 40, a Latino man, died from multiple traumatic injuries inflicted by a vehicle near the intersection of Gale and Riderwood avenues in Hacienda Heights. His time of death was listed as 6:41 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12.
According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Perez was a working man who stopped at a store to buy something and left his truck, loaded with pallets, parked with the engine running. A car thief jumped in the truck, and started to drive off. Perez saw him, and jumped on the truck, apparently desperate to stop it from being stolen. The suspect sped away; Perez clung to the side of the truck for about half a mile, then fell off, and was run over by the rear wheels. Perez’s wife is quoted by the newspaper saying her husband may have feared the loss of his truck would cost him his job.
It is rare for a vehicular case of any kind to be classified as a homicide by the coroner’s office, which categorizes homicides differently than law enforcement. Particular circumstances indicating a homicidal bent by another person usually need to be present for such cases to qualify. This one met them.