Stolen Hat May Have Led To Man Being Fatally Struck By Car In Santa Fe Springs

SANTA FE SPRINGS (CBSLA) — A man was fatally struck Wednesday in the middle of a big Santa Fe Springs road after apparently running out of a nearby bar to chase after someone who had stolen his hat.

Reports of a man in the street came in to Whittier police just before 1 a.m. The man was found on Telegraph Road, near Pioneer, bleeding from the head and with injuries indicating he was hit by a car.

The man was injured so severely, paramedics were unable to help him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was later identified by family as 22-year-old Ricky Munoz.

Whittier police say Munoz was with friends at Maggie's Pub, where he was with his sister and a friend. Someone apparently grabbed his hat, a fight erupted, and Munoz ran after the man out of the bar and across Telegraph Road, where he was struck.

"My daughter was the one that ran and picked him up," Munoz's mother, Luz Jimenez said. "She called me screaming and I just immediately came to the scene and he was already covered up."

The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. He has since been released. Authorities are still looking into what happened at the bar.

Telegraph Road was closed from Pioneer Boulevard to Alburtis Avenue for the death investigation.