A 44-year-old man was killed Friday afternoon while sleeping near bushes in the Encinitas parking lot when an SUV driver planted a bush and beat him, authorities said.
It happened earlier at 3:45 p.m. Enterprise Bank & amp; Trust North El Camino Real about half a mile north of Encinitas Boulevard, according to Lt. David Collins sheriff of San Diego.
Sheriff officials said the victim was lying on some grass on the wall below and was not visible in the parking lot when he was beaten. He died at the scene.
It was unclear why the SUV driver, a 61-year-old woman, was driving over a ridge and bushes.
Sheriff officials initially said that agents arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence. But a news release several hours after the accident said investigators had not yet “determined whether alcohol or drugs were the cause.”
Friday’s incident was the third time in the past three years that drivers in San Diego County have crashed into roads and killed people sleeping or sitting on the ground.
On July 4, 2019, a driver struck a bus bench in Mission Valley, killing two homeless men and seriously injuring a woman who had gathered behind him. Last year, a driver veered off the sidewalk with three homeless people, killing three and injuring several others in a tunnel below San Diego City College.
Anyone with information on Friday’s fatal accident was asked to contact the North Coastal Sheriff’s Office at (760) 966-3500.
1:14 a.m. June 25, 2022: This story has been updated with additional information everywhere.
1:14 a.m. June 25, 2022: This story has been updated with additional information everywhere.
