A California driver mowed down a doctor taking an afternoon bike ride — before getting out of his Lexus and stabbing him to death, law enforcement officials said.
Michael Mammone, 58, was riding in the bike lane on the Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point around 3 p.m. Wednesday when a driver slammed into him from behind, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
The crash “launched” Mammone into the Crown Valley Parkway intersection, Sgt. Mike Woodruff told KCAL.
Vanroy Evan Smith, 39, got out of his white Lexus brandishing a knife and began assaulting Mammone, an emergency room doctor at Providence Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, police said.
Witnesses said that Smith was also holding a BB gun as he approached the injured Mammone before he began stabbing him.
By the time law enforcement arrived, bystanders had lept into action and detained Smith. He was booked on suspicion of murder.
The knife he allegedly wielded was found at the scene.
Mammone, who was lying on the highway suffering from “severe injuries,” was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Police said the men did not appear to know each other.
“As of right now we currently don’t truly understand the why … as far as motivation and any type of relationship,” Woodruff told KTLA.
“Investigators are keeping all options open to check those boxes, if you will, to make sure they don’t leave anything uncovered.”