LAKESIDE, Calif. - A Chula Vista man was killed Monday night after authorities said he tried to stop a runaway vehicle on a Lakeside street.
California Highway Patrol officers said the incident happened just after 8 p.m. on Aurora Drive. According to the CHP, two men were moving broken-down vehicles when a truck broke loose and began rolling down the hill. The runaway vehicle was not running at the time it broke loose.
The county medical examiner later identified the man as 39-year-old David Roy Sterner.
The CHP said they believe Sterner tried to climb into the truck window to somehow stop it as it was rolling. The truck ultimately crashed into a tree in the front yard of a house.
Sterner was found lying outside of the truck and had a large cut on his body, though it's unclear how he sustained the injury.
Officers said Sterner was helping a friend with the cars. That friend was about 1/8 of a mile up the hill and did not witness the accident.
The owners of the home where the crash happened had just walked inside with their dog, less than one minute before the truck hit the tree in their yard.
CHP performed CPR on Sterner when they arrived, but they were unsuccessful.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover cremation and funeral expenses.
