CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune
A black Acura struck a pedestrian, killing him, before crashing into the Belief in God Ministries church at 69th Street yesterday. The pedestrian, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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LA MESA – A motorist speeding down University Avenue at 100 mph mowed down a pedestrian, killing him, before crashing into a small church at 69th Street yesterday, authorities said.
The driver ran away, but a man detained a few blocks away by La Mesa police was later identified as the driver by at least two witnesses. Keith Johnson, 27, of San Diego was taken into custody.
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Update: Victim identified
7:35 a.m., March 20, 2007
SAN DIEGO – The Medical Examiner's office has identified the victim as Bernard Charles Piotrowski, 50, of La Mesa.
– U-T Breaking News Team
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The pedestrian's name was not released. Police said the man, believed to be in his 60s, had just gotten off a bus.
San Diego fire officials said the man's arm was severed and he was declared dead at the scene, in front of the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in the San Diego neighborhood of Rolando.
Several witnesses told San Diego police they saw a black Acura racing east on University from about 62nd Street before it rear-ended a green Ford Taurus, spun out and hit the pedestrian about 4 p.m.
One of the Acura's outside mirrors caught the man's arm and tore it off. The Acura crossed 69th Street, jumped the curb, raced across a small parking lot and crashed into a corner of Belief in God Ministries, breaking a natural gas line.
Pastor Michael White was in his office when he heard the crash and felt the building shake. He said he went outside and saw an empty Acura, its front end sticking into the wall. Natural gas hissed out of the broken line.
At the El Cerrito Veterinary Hospital next door, staff raced to evacuate about 10 animals and a half-dozen owners in case of a gas explosion.
Veterinarian Donna Valerie's husband, San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Mark Sauer, said he was doing some repair work behind the clinic on his day off when he heard the crash.
He ran to the front and saw a man walking away from the car. Sauer said he asked where the man was going.
“He said, 'Someone's trying to kill me, man. I gotta go,' ” Sauer said. He said the man, about 6 feet 5 inches tall, thin and wearing a bright yellow shirt, ran south. Police later found the yellow shirt in a flood control channel behind the clinic and church.
Police detained two men at one point, and two or three witnesses identified one of them as the Acura's driver. The other man was released.
An accident investigator said Johnson told them he'd been carjacked, but his statement had not been verified. He was arrested on suspicion of felony manslaughter and hit-and-run.
The west side of 69th Street, where the pedestrian was struck, is in the city of San Diego, and the east side, where the church is, is in La Mesa. Police from both cities worked at the scene.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. crews came to cap the gas line and vent the residual gas so a tow truck could pull the Acura out of the church. Police closed University Avenue until nearly 9 p.m. during the investigation. The driver of the Taurus that was rear-ended by the Acura was not injured.
Staff writer Joe Hughes contributed to this report.
Pauline Repard: (619) 293-1893; pauline.repard@uniontrib.com
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
7:35 a.m., March 20, 2007
SAN DIEGO – The Medical Examiner's office has identified the victim as Bernard Charles Piotrowski, 50, of La Mesa.
