MONROVIA, Calif. (KABC) — A man was hit and killed on the 210 Freeway Thursday in Monrovia as he was fleeing from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at a Home Depot in Monrovia.
It happened shortly before 10 a.m.
Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik confirmed that during the ICE activity at the store on Mountain Avenue, the man fled on foot and entered the freeway, crossing Evergreen Avenue and running onto the eastbound lanes of the freeway.
The man was sent to a local hospital where he later died.
“While we understand community members want to know more about the incident, the information provided in this update is all the city has to provide at this time,” said Feik in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
Feik also said the city of Monrovia does not have any information on the operation itself.
“There is no ongoing ICE activity reported in Monrovia at this time, and the City has not received any communication or information from ICE,” he said in the statement.
According to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, the man was not being pursued by any DHS law enforcement.
“We do not know their legal status. We were not aware of this incident or notified by California Highway Patrol until hours after operations in the area had concluded,” read the statement.
Protesters later held a rally in front of the Home Depot.
“It was basically indirect manslaughter,” one protester said. “They chased him out of the Home Depot, and as a result he ran onto the freeway. That wouldn’t have happened if ICE wasn’t raiding the area.”
Students from Monrovia High School organized a rally at the scene after hearing about the tragedy as the California Highway Patrol investigated the accident.
Those who gathered called for an immediate end to the immigration raids.
Community activists say 10 to 12 men were taken into custody, including one man they say was hit in the leg by a vehicle belonging to ICE.
