A man was run over and killed in Sacramento, California, early Monday morning after he was struck as he allegedly attempted to steal a catalytic converter from a parked vehicle.
The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) said officers responded just before 4:45 a.m. to reports of a collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, CBS Sacramento reports.
Officers arrived and found the casualty who had sustained serious injuries. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to the SPD.
He was subsequently identified as Jose Adolfo Rangel, 28.
On-scene investigators confirmed Rangel was tampering with the vehicle at the time of the collision.
The driver of the vehicle spoke with officers at the scene.
Police said on Monday afternoon detectives believe the man who died was tampering with the vehicle to steal its catalytic converter before the collision.
A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction.
Officers from Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department help guide a driver and vehicle onto RV levelling ramps, to have its catalytic converter engraved with a traceable number, on July 14, 2021, in City of Industry, California. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
It contains precious metals, such as platinum, gold, rhodium and palladium, that have high value in the recycling market.
Typically, suspected thieves work to remove and steal the catalytic converter by getting beneath the target vehicle.
As Breitbart News reported, a North Carolina man suffered a similar fate last December.
“Detectives found evidence on scene that would indicate the male was in the process of cutting off and stealing the catalytic converter belonging to the Toyota Prius prior to his death,” the sheriff’s office wrote after the event.
Evidence at the scene of that different incident indicated while the subject was cutting the exhaust pipe, the car jack failed, and the vehicle landed on top of the man, the office stated.