Last Updated on January 10, 2023 by CCAR Staff
WALNUT >> Deputies arrested a driver from West Covina for allegedly killing a jogger Monday morning.
The jogger, 59-year-old Chi Shao of Walnut, was hit from behind while on La Puente Road and carried several yards before the car crashed into a brick wall shortly before 6 a.m., deputies said. He died at the scene.
• Video: Lt. Steve Jauch at the scene
The driver, 36-year-old Haissan Massalkhy, was arrested on suspicion of murder Monday night.
The two men don’t appear to know each other, according to Lt. Steve Jauch of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
The Sheriff’s Walnut/Diamond Bar station found out about the fatal collision after a homeowner called 911 about a car that struck a wall outside his house in the 20200 block of Barnard Avenue.
Deputies found Shao injured and Massalkhy standing near a 1989 Toyota Camry. Firefighters pronounced Shao dead at the scene.
Jauch said the fatal collision happened mid block on La Puente Road, west of Citadel Drive.
He said the jogger was on the bike lane when the Camry, also heading eastbound, hit the man from behind. Detectives haven’t determined yet how fast the car was traveling before the collision .
“He landed on the hood and was carried several yards,” Jauch said, adding that the car then collided with a wall.
Jauch said the driver didn’t appear to be injured.
Deputies initially detained Massalkhy. He was also checked at a hospital and medically cleared to be booked.
He was arrested at 5:30 p.m. then booked at the sheriff’s Walnut./Diamond Bar station jail about two hours later. He remains in custody on a $1 million bail.
The collision shut down La Puente Road from Lemon Avenue to Pierre Road for several hours.
Victor Ramirez and Lorraine Tafoya live near where the collision occurred.
Tafoya said people jog and walk in the area all day. But she said not so much during the heat. She described the area as a quiet, safe, sleepy community.
“We feel very safe here,” Ramirez said. “It’s very rare we hear anything like this.”
