Driver Was Fatally Shot Before Nearly Striking Woman on Bicycle: Police

A driver was fatally shot Thursday in Santa Ana before nearly crashing into a woman riding a bicycle.

Police initially received a report around 5 a.m. of a driver striking a bicyclist. Officers later determined that the driver had already been shot when he struck the bike, dragging it on the road.

Police identified the victim as 27-year-old Erik Montes of Santa Ana.

A woman who was carrying bottles and other recyclable items got off the bike in time to avoid the truck. She was not injured, police said.

The driver was identified only as a man in his late 20s. Investigators discovered a bullet hole in the truck's passenger-side window.

Detectives have not established a motive, Bertagna said, and are "trying to find the original crime scene."

A 40-year-old man was shot in the jaw while driving to work in what was an apparently random attack Jan. 19 in the 1300 block of East Edinger Avenue. The victim survived the shooting.