Man Found On Beach Reportedly Hit By Vehicle
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Police are trying to figure out if a critically injured man was struck by a vehicle on Santa Monica Beach, or brought there after being run over elsewhere, perhaps Pacific Coast Highway.
The man was found in tire tracks on the beach, a half mile north of the Santa Monica Pier, at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
CBS2's Greg Mills spoke to a tourist who was staying at a beach-side hotel and heard the man's anguished cries.
"I heard someone hollering, 'Help me, help me.' It was a gentleman," said the tourist, Nancy Payne. "And I looked out the window, couldn't find anything, couldn't see anything. But, I mean it was very loud."
About the same time, police were notified about the injured man
"We received a call from one of the residents in the area who said that they heard someone yelling for help," said Santa Monica police Sgt. Randy Flores.
The critically injured man was taken to a hospital and has been in surgery. Meanwhile, police are dealing with a mystery.
"All he told us was that a car ran him over," said Flores. "He wasn't able to tell us if this occurred actually on PCH or it actually occurred where we found him."
The incident occurred six days after a woman sunbathing on Venice Beach was hit by an LA County lifeguard vehicle in the late afternoon. She was hospitalized with internal injuries.
Police do not believe this man struck Sunday was hit by a similar vehicle because they are not out at that time of the morning. Investigators did make a mold of the tire tracks, which should help them find the vehicle that made them.
