WHITTIER – The driver of a vehicle that killed a man who exited his car in an alleged road rage incident in Whittier was behind bars and the coroner Monday identified the victim.
Whittier police officers were summoned to the 14700 block of Cullen Street at 3:10 p.m. Saturday. They found one man dead on the street and a second man determined to be the driver of the vehicle that struck him, police said. The deceased man was identified as 69-year-old Antonio Acosta.
Investigators believe a road rage occurred while both drivers were traveling northbound on Colima Road near Anaconda Street. At some point, the victim displayed a handgun and was followed by the suspect, they said.
The victim got out of his vehicle unarmed on Cullen to confront the suspect and was struck by the suspect’s vehicle, Lt. Sam Reed of the Whittier Police Department told City News Service. A handgun allegedly was found inside the victim’s vehicle.
The driver of the other vehicle was arrested for suspicion of homicide, police said. He was identified as 29-year-old Jeffrey Flores of Fontana.
“It was the detectives’ opinion the person had ample time to distance himself from the incident,” Reed said.
The investigation was ongoing. Whittier police urged anyone with information about the incident to call them at 562-567-9200. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or to lacrimestoppers.org.