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Man Fatally Crushed by Car in Hillcrest Identified


A man believed to be sleeping near the entrance of a parking garage was killed by a car entering the facility Friday morning.

Police tape was set up around an apartment complex near Cleveland Avenue and Vermont Street where the sleeping man was struck by a car being driven by a 54-year-old woman.

It happened around 4 a.m. Friday morning. The man, identified as 27-year-old Daniel Estrada Arreola, was crushed by the car and became pinned underneath it, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said. He was declared dead at the scene.

A maintenance worker with the apartment complex told NBC 7 he saw surveillance video of the whole thing. 

“He was dragged under the car into the garage,” Said Robert Nicol. “It happened very quickly and I don’t think he felt any pain.” 

On Friday morning a biohazard team was cleaning up the scene. 

The woman told police she did not see Arreola lying in the street at the time of the crash. 

“She has to live with that,” said Nicol. “I don’t know what she’s been through in her life but I feel bad for her.” 

“I feel bad for her because she is going to have to live with this for the rest of her life,” he said. 

SDPD traffic division was investigating the crash and the entrance was expected to be closed to traffic for several hours.

“I’m not surprised at all that this happened here,” said Ronnie Childers, a neighbor. “It’s hard to see. It’s very dimly lit here.” 

Ponce added that although the speed limit on the street is 10 mph, he sometimes sees cars rushing through going speeds up to 50 mph. 

“They need speed bumps on this street,” said Ponce. “You don’t think about it until something like this happens.” 

A GoFundMe page has been set up by Arreola’s family. 

A previous version of this article erroneously suggested the victim was homeless. He was not.  

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.


Source: NBC San Diego

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