A man who Corona police say crashed his car into a pickup and then approached them while carrying a tire iron was shot to death by two officers early Tuesday, Nov. 18, the Police Department said.
The confrontation took place in the parking lot of the Applebee’s restaurant on McKinley Street, across the typically busy street from the Corona Hills Plaza that is anchored by Costco.
Sgt. Robert Montanez, a Police Department spokesman, said that for reasons under investigation, the man crashed his sedan into a pickup in the parking lot. He got out of the car and walked around the lot, wielding a tire iron, Montanez said. This happened minutes after 12 a.m., which is the restaurant’s listed closing time.
Police received 911 calls at 12:18 a.m. about the man. Officers arrived and ordered him to drop the tire iron, but he failed to do so, and as he approached officers, two fired, killing the man.
He had not been publicly identified.
The driver of the pickup was hospitalized for treatment of what police said were moderate injuries. Montanez declined to share any statements the driver made, citing the ongoing investigation.
The parking lot was still cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape at 10 a.m. Flatbed tow trucks removed the two vehicles to be examined for evidence. The sedan had left-front damage, and the pickup was rumpled on the driver’s door.
An Applebee’s employee who showed up around 9 a.m. said his manager told him that they hoped to open the restaurant at some point on Tuesday.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Force Investigations Detail, along with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and Corona police, are investigating the shooting by the officers.
Police ask anyone with information on the case to contact Detective Wade Arens at 951-817-5767 or at Wade.Arens@CoronaCA.gov.
