Police searching for assailant who set fire to car, killing man in South LA

Aug 08, 2023

Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man after his car was set on fire Sunday morning while he was still in the vehicle, authorities said.

Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched at 1:39 a.m. to 102nd Street and Avalon Boulevard, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported. Paramedics rushed the victim to a hospital, where he was listed in grave condition, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division. He later died of his injuries.

According to multiple media reports, someone tossed an accelerant into the parked car while the victim was sleeping in it.

Neighbors said the victim, whose name has not been released, was living in the vehicle. They told NBCLA he parked his SUV in their vehicle several months ago and stayed in the area.

"He never got out. He'd open the door for air and just sit there but he never got out," a man named Rick, who lives nearby, said. "He couldn't walk. He was a big guy."

As neighbors reel the loss of the victim, they say they're remembering him as someone who was a good person. They said they're trying to wrap their minds around the death.

"Despite where he was at in life, everybody is going through something," one local who didn't want to be named said. "He wasn’t mental, wasn’t nothing wrong with him and whoever did it is wrong for it. Totally wrong. He was a good dude."

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Police have not released any further information.

City News Service contributed to this report.