Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Car Sideswipes Parked Truck, Killing Man, 58

A 58-year-old Santa Ana man who walked into a street to move his parked truck into a driveway was killed early Sunday when a suspected drunken driver sideswiped the truck, then fled the scene, authorities said.

Luis Mendez Guerrero was killed instantly when he was struck while opening the door to the driver’s side of the truck, Santa Ana police said. The incident occurred about 2 a.m. in front of the victim’s home in the 1300 block of South Broadway.

Police later arrested Pablo Flores Martinez, 30, of Santa Ana on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run driving, drunken driving and driving without a license. Martinez was booked into the Orange County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Witnesses told police that a northbound yellow car was moving erratically along Broadway when it hit a parked car and then rammed the truck just as the victim prepared to enter it. Witnesses said the yellow car then sped away. The victim’s son heard the collision, ran to the sidewalk and discovered his father’s body lying in the street, police said.

About two hours later, a short distance away from the accident scene, patrol officers spotted a yellow vehicle that had been newly damaged parked in the 1300 block of East Normandie Avenue, police said. They said they found Martinez passed out behind the wheel of the car and arrested him.