Driver arrested after Santa Monica beachgoer hit, killed by SUV

A driver is in custody after apparently running over someone at the beach in Santa Monica on Thursday night, police said.

About 11:30 p.m. Thursday, first responders rushed onto the sand near a Cirque du Soleil Kooza set up on the beach to try to free a person trapped under a silver SUV, according to KABC.

Video showed firefighters digging underneath the SUV while others stood nearby with wood blocks that could be used to help dislodge a vehicle stuck in the sand.

“We were just passing by walking our dog and I saw that car stuck out there… but i saw the car door open… and it looked like there was a bunch of people running away from that car, at first, so I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on,” witness Shyler Compton told KABC.

At least two people got out of the SUV and tried to move it but it was stuck on top of the victim, KTLA reported. Police took the driver into custody. Video showed a man crying in handcuffs being escorted into a police vehicle.

No information on the victim was immediately available and the investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.