Man Beaten To Death by Crowd After Car Accident
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AUSTIN, Texas — An angry crowd beat a man to death after a vehicle he was riding in struck and injured a young girl, police said yesterday. Police believe 2,000 to 3,000 people were in the area for a Juneteenth celebration when the attack occurred Tuesday night.
The driver had stopped to check on the little girl at the entrance to an apartment complex when a group of men attacked him, authorities said. The passenger, David Rivas Morales, 40, got out to try to help the driver, but the crowd turned on him, said police Commander Harold Piatt.
Morales was beaten to death by as many as 20 men and left lying in a parking lot, Commander Piatt said. A preliminary autopsy listed blunt force trauma as the cause of death. The little girl, 3 or 4 years old, was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The driver, who got away from the crowd, is cooperating with investigators, police said.
