The incident happened Tuesday night on the 13200 block of Bradley Avenue in Sylmar. Police said the crash occurred very close to, if not directly in front of 62-year-old Francisco Martinez's home.
The victim's other son was at the scene of the crash Wednesday morning, crouched along the sidewalk with his head buried in his arms. He was struggling to process what he saw the night before. He said his own brother, 26-year-old Luis Martinez, ran over and killed his father after an argument over a broken door.
"I was in my room, and he started arguing with my brother in the other room. I guess he'd seen the broken door and, I don't know, they started going at it," said Jesus Martinez.
Jesus Martinez said before his brother struck his father with his car, he hit another brother, who was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
"He missed me by five feet. He hit my brother. He was up in the air like a dog," Martinez described.
The force of the crash killed the 62-year-old and caused a brick mail box to be pushed down the block, crumbling it to pieces. Skid marks were left at the scene on the sidewalk as well as a nearby wall.
Neighbors said there was a lot of chaos and confusion Tuesday night.
"His whole face was full of lacerations. His heart was racing. I was on the phone with the paramedics at that point. They told me to keep the victim flat on his back, remove any kind of pillows that were underneath his head, and that's exactly what I did," said witness Wayne Warren.
Luis Martinez was also injured in the crash and was treated at a hospital before being booked for murder. At least one other man was also taken into police custody, but it was not known whether that person was charged with any crime.
