Liquor store clerk flung to his death from hood of robber’s car, CA video shows

An oncoming car, headlights glaring, swerves violently from side to side as it careens down a California street before a body flies off the hood onto the pavement, a video shows.

The man, a liquor store employee trying to stop a robbery, died of his injuries in the Thursday night incident, the Long Beach Police Department says in a release posted to Facebook.

Police also released a security video of the suspect inside the store in the 300 block of W. Anaheim Street in the 10:40 p.m. robbery.

The clerk chased after the suspect, described as a Black man, approximately 40 years old, 5’7” tall, skinny build, short dark hair and mustache, wearing a black short sleeved shirt and blue jeans, police said.

He leaped onto the hood of the suspected thief’s silver four door sedan to try to stop him from fleeing, but the man drove away, swerving from side to side until the worker fell off at Anaheim Street and Magnolia Avenue about three blocks from the store, police reported.

Long Beach police initially believed the clerk had been struck by a vehicle, but now say the second driver had stopped to try to help him. The worker died of his injuries.

The employee’s identity has not been released, but co-workers said he’d only started working at the liquor store two months ago and had been living out of his van, KABC reported.

Police ask that anyone with information contact detectives Kelsey Myers or Shawn Loughlin at 562-570-7355. Those who wish to remain anonymous can submit tips to L.A. Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477, using the “P3 Tips” app or visiting lacrimestoppers.org.

This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Liquor store clerk flung to his death from hood of robber’s car, CA video shows."