A homeless man sitting on a bus stop bench in Chula Vista Sunday was struck by a vehicle and later died from his injuries, police said. The driver involved in the incident faces a murder charge.
The collision occurred at 6:46 p.m. near the intersection of Orange and Third avenues.
Witnesses told police the driver had several collisions in a parking lot after leaving a bar.
When someone confronted the man about the smaller collisions, he sped off at a high rate of speed, witnesses told police.
At that point, the driver's car jumped a curb and struck a bus stop bench. The man sitting on the bench suffered an amputated leg in the collision and died at a nearby hospital, Chula Vista police said.
Faris Zillow, who manages the shopping center at Third and Orange Avenues where the bus stop is situated, says the homeless man often slept nearby.
"Cars come fast," Zillow says. "They can't make it with the curve. Maybe they need to move the bus stop."
Local
Clerk Rony Zoro says he knew the victim for four years. "All the time I take care of him food stuff," Zoro tells NBC 7. "I am really sad - honest."
Investigators identified the driver as a Nicholas Ramirez, 28, of Imperial Beach with four known previous DUI arrests.
He was booked into San Diego County Jail on charges of murder, manslaughter and DUI according to police.
