Suspect apparently tries to steal vehicle's catalytic converter; gets killed when same vehicle allegedly runs over him

A man who apparently tried to steal a vehicle's catalytic converter was killed when that same vehicle allegedly ran him over in Sacramento, California, early Monday.

What are the details?

Initially, the 4:45 A.M. incident was reported as a collision involving a vehicle and pedestrian in the 8100 block of Timberlake Way on the eastern end of Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Arriving officers who found the man in question said he sustained serious injuries, the paper reported. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Bee added, citing Sacramento police. Investigators spoke to the vehicle’s driver at the scene of the collision, the paper said.

The deceased man was identified as 28-year-old Jose Adolfo Rangel, the paper said, citing the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. Police said Monday afternoon that detectives believe the deceased man was tampering with the vehicle in an attempt to steal its catalytic converter, the Bee noted.

A paper said catalytic converters are part of cars' exhaust systems and contain metals highly valuable in the recycling market such as platinum, gold, rhodium, and palladium. The Bee added that those who steal catalytic converters from parked cars typically get underneath vehicles and quickly remove them.

Here's a recent look at catalytic converter thefts at Sacramento's airport:

Catalytic converters not safe fom theft at Sacramento International Airportyoutu.be

Not the first time

As catalytic converter thefts rapidly rise around the country, the fatality in Sacramento wasn't the first time a suspected catalytic converter crook was killed or injured during the act:

• Last month a Wichita, Kansas, homeowner shot a suspected catalytic converter thief after the suspect approached the homeowner with a cordless saw.
• In December, police in North Carolina said a man attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a Toyota Prius died when the car fell on top of him.
• In November, two crooks opened fire on a man who spotted them trying to steal a catalytic converter on a Chicago street. Problem was that their target was a concealed carrier who had a much better aim, killing one of the crooks.
• Similar to the North Carolina incident, police in Anaheim, California, in 2017 said a suspected thief was crushed to death when a car with a catalytic converter he apparently was trying to steal fell on him.