Monrovia vigil to honor man fatally struck on freeway while fleeing ICE immigration raid at Home Depot
A vigil will be held Friday night at a Monrovia Home Depot store that was the scene of an federal immigration raid that city officials say prompted a man to flee onto the 210 Freeway, where he was fatally struck by an SUV.
The man's name has not yet been released.
According to a statement by Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik, Monrovia police responded shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday to a call about an ICE action at a Home Depot store at 1625 Mountain Ave. During that operation, a man fled on foot across Evergreen Avenue and onto the 210 Freeway and was struck by a vehicle near Myrtle Avenue, according to Feik and the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officials said the man was struck by a Ford Expedition SUV being driven at 50 to 60 mph. The fleeing man suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Highway Patrol.
"There is no ongoing ICE activity reported in Monrovia at this time, and the city has not received any communication or information from ICE," Feik said in his statement Thursday. "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."
Protesters staged a rally on Thursday at the scene of the ICE raid to express outrage over the death and to call for an end to the continued immigration enforcement operations taking place in and around Los Angeles.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network said it will hold a rally at the Home Depot at 6 p.m. Friday in memory of the man who died.
"The worker was fleeing an unannounced raid by immigration agents, the latest in an ongoing wave of violent, chaotic kidnappings and assaults that ICE and other agencies are waging at Home Depots and other locations across Southern California," according to a statement from the advocacy group.
The CHP was continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding how and why the pedestrian ran onto the freeway, according to a statement released by the agency.
Anyone with information about the incident was encouraged to contact CHP Officer J. Rosas during business hours at (626) 517-8500.
City News Service contributed to this report.
