Family sees dad killed when he flees attack during car purchase, California cops say

A 52-year-old man died in California after being struck by traffic while trying to escape an attack after he went with his family to buy a car, Los Angeles police say.

Police initially responded to reports of an accident at Budlong Avenue and 109th Street in South Los Angeles at 12:12 p.m. Friday, March 25, a news release said.

Eugenio Paz had gone there with his wife, daughter and grandchild hoping to purchase a car, police told KNBC.

He had seen the car advertised online, according to the station.

He had earlier arranged to buy the red Nissan Altima, which police later found to be stolen, KTTV reported. But when he met the man offering to sell the car, he was attacked during a robbery attempt.

Police initially thought Paz had been shot, but on reviewing security video determined he had been hit on the head with something by one of his three attackers, according to the station.

Disoriented, Paz apparently tried to flee and was hit by a vehicle, killing him, police said.

The three men who attacked him ran away, police said.

“We know this happened right in front of his family so his family was there to witness it,” Lt. Derrick Alfred told KTTV. “This is a tragic situation of a man trying to do good for his family and buy his son a car and now he’s dead, so we’d really like to get to the bottom of this.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Family sees dad killed when he flees attack during car purchase, California cops say."