It's not clear whether or not a man in California realized a person was sleeping inside a truck when he allegedly slid under it to snatch a catalytic converter. But when the sleeping driver, parked at a Target in Palmdale, woke up around 6pm to the sound of something sawing underneath her, she panicked and backed out of her parking spot, feeling a bump under her tires as she accelerated. She had accidentally run over the suspected thief, who later died at a hospital. Three other suspects who had been waiting for the man in a nearby car were arrested.
From CBS News:
A woman accidentally ran over a man suspected of trying to steal her truck's catalytic converter in the Los Angeles suburb of Palmdale Tuesday evening, CBS Los Angeles reports. The suspect later died. …
A "lifted" 4×4 Ford Excursion truck was partially backed out of a parking space, deputies said. An unidentified man was underneath the vehicle. …
The woman stopped and called 911 for medical assistance for the man.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Catalytic converter thefts shot up 1,215% between 2019 and 2022, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, via CBS.
