ER doctor is killed after he’s sent flying when Lexus-driving accountant smashed into his bike and then fatally stabs him – witnesses claim Evan Smith shouted white privilege slurs as he stabbed Dr Michael Mammone repeatedly
Vanroy Evan Smith Laguna Beach, California was was booked on suspicion of murder on Wednesday in Orange County, California
Evan Smith, 39, had been detained by onlookers at the scene where he murdered ER doctor, Michael Mammone
Laguna Beach physician, Michael Mammone, 59, was sent flying as the Lexus-driving motorist smashed into his bike and after beating the traffic light then stabbed him to death
Witnesses claim suspect shouted white privilege slurs as he beset the man he’d just run over, stabbing the victim repeatedly in the back
He had been cycling along the Pacific Coast Highway when he was mowed down
Smith of Long Beach, was detained by bystanders and then taken into custody
A physician in Laguna Beach, California, was killed after being knocked off his bicycle by a Lexus SUV which beat the traffic light, before the same driver stabbed the stricken cyclist to death in an apparent road rage incident on Wednesday.
Emergency room doctor, Michael Mammone, 58, was cycling on the Pacific Coast Highway, California, when he was struck from behind and run over by a white Lexus which sped through a red light at an intersection on Wednesday at around 3pm.
The driver of the vehicle, Vanroy Evan Smith, 39, then got out of his car and stabbed the cyclist multiple times in the back, before bystanders tackled him to the ground.
Vanroy Evan Smith, 39, of Long Beach, was detained by bystanders and then taken into custody where he was booked on suspicion of murder.
Witnesses say the irate driver was holding a BB gun when he alighted and approached Dr Mammone, screaming racial slurs about ‘white privilege’, according to ABC7.
A shocking video on KTLA shows the moment Vanroy Smith, a trained accountant, careened into the man on a bicycle at an intersection.
Police who have said the men were complete strangers, have not put out the motives behind the motorist intentionally running down the motorist, then proceed to stab him to death.
It shows the Lexus appearing to speed through the intersection and throwing the doctor and his bike up into the air.
Smith, who is described as a black man on his arrest records, can then be seen walking over to Dr Mammone and attacking him again before witnesses drag him away.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department said investigators were unaware of the slurs and added that there was ‘no known relationship or motive’ for the killing.
It is unclear if the doctor was traveling to or from work during the incident. His friends said he lived close to his job regularly cycled to the hospital.
Authorities discovered the doctor lying in the intersection suffering from severe injuries. Police recovering a knife from the scene.
Despite witnesses claiming they saw a gun of some kind, officials have not confirmed if any firearms were recovered from the scene.
Sgt. Michael Woodruff also praised the witnesses at the scene who detained Smith, calling their actions ‘brave and heroic’.
Smith, a father-of-two, was arrested and has been charged with murder and is set to appear in court later on Friday.
He remains in custody at the Intake Release Center in Orange County.
Dr Mammone graduated from the Keck School of Medicine of The University of Southern California in 1993. He has worked as an ER physician at Providence Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, since 2011.
He also occasionally worked out of Mission Viejo and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Santa Ana.
The hospital said in a statement: ‘We are stunned by this devastating tragedy. The entire Mission Hospital family is grieving over the loss of an incredible physician and friend.
‘We will honor Dr. Mammone’s dedication to our community and passion for medicine by continuing to provide exceptional care.’
Cardiologist Dawn Aatwal added: ‘That’s the irony of this whole thing. If a patient was brought in his condition, he would have done everything he could to save that person.
‘He has saved so many lives here, and he died very close to where he saved hundreds of lives,’ said cardiologist Doctor Dawn Aatwal.
The Orange County DA’s Office said they are currently prosecuting close to 70 cases of vehicular death, with quite a few involving road rage, which seems to have risen since Covid restrictions were lifted and people returned to driving.
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