SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man who died after driving off a pier into San Diego Bay early Monday is suspected of assaulting a woman at a La Jolla hotel prior to the crash, police said.
Shortly after midnight, officers received a call reporting an assault at Shoal Hotel in the 6700 block of La Jolla Boulevard, San Diego Police Department Lt. Paul Philips said in a news release.
According to police, the assault occurred after a front desk clerk, identified as 23-year-old Aaron Tran, checked two women into their room. After the end of his shift, authorities said Tran went up to the room and told them he needed to come inside because of a water leak next door.
Once inside, Philips said Tran walked to the bathroom with one of the women and handed her his phone. The phone displayed a threatening message warning the woman not to scream and directing her to put her hands behind her back, Philips added.
U.S. Marine killed in two-vehicle crash in Oceanside: police
When the woman looked up, she saw Tran was holding a knife, according to SDPD.
“A struggle ensued during which time the victim was cut with the knife near her collar bone,” Philips said. According to SDPD, the victim screamed, which woke up the other woman. The pair ran into the parking lot, where they called police.
The victim was later transported to a hospital for treatment. She is expected to make a full recovery.
“What a catastrophe and I’m right here,” Peggy Carlene, who was staying in a nearby room at the hotel when the assault took place, told FOX 5/KUSI. “I just heard this thump, thump and furniture thumping … I just thought, ‘No its just rough housing,’ and then it stopped so I just let it go.”
Officers did not find Tran at the hotel after arriving on scene. Philips said he was located 30 minutes later, when San Diego Harbor Police tried to stop a wrong-way driver near Harbor Drive and Market Street before losing sight of the car.
Authorities then learned the car, which matched the description of Tran’s, had driven off the Navy Pier, located just north of the USS Midway Museum.
Tran’s white Honda Accord went into the bay around 12:35 a.m., according to Harbor police. Divers with Harbor police retrieved Tran’s body, which appeared to have self-inflicted injuries, according to police. The car was pulled from 40-foot-deep water around 6 a.m.
The pier serves as a parking lot for the USS Midway Museum. Investigators cleared the scene before the museum opened at 10 a.m.
FOX 5/KUSI’s Elizabeth Alvarez and Juliette Vara contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
