An Long Beach man accused of hitting the Laguna Beach doctor with his Lexus when the victim was on his bike at Dana Point Wednesday and then leaving the car to assault the cyclist remained in jail under suspicion of murder Thursday.
The incident and attack occurred close to Pacific Coast Highway and Crown Valley Parkway at around 3:02 p.m., Orange County Sheriff’s officials stated in a press release. The collision pushed the cyclist into the road, the driver then swung around him, then walked out of a white car with a knife and attacked the man, authorities said.
The motorist was restrained by a group of people who gathered around the driver, and the driver was later detained for murder suspicions. The police found an unidentified knife that could be involved in the homicide site, according to officials from the sheriff’s department.Doctor. Michael John Mammone, the 58-year-old was an emergency physician at Providence Mission Hospital who worked mostly from the facility of the healthcare group situated in Laguna Beach.
The victim passed away in an institution and was later determined to be Michael John Mammone, 58. He was an emergency physician at Providence Mission Hospital, Erin Prunell spokesperson for the healthcare company spoke to.
He was a physician at the clinic at Laguna Beach and occasionally worked from Mission Viejo and Children’s Hospital in Orange County in Santa Ana.
“The entire Mission Hospital family is grieving over the loss of an incredible physician and friend,” the hospital’s representatives Mission Hospital wrote in an official statement. “We will honor Dr. Mammone’s dedication to our community and passion for medicine.”
Friends have said he was an affable persona as well as “was the kind of person you wanted to be your doctor,” the spokesman from Providence Mission Hospital said over the phone on Thursday.
Mammone was a patient of Providence since the year 2011 and was among the many medical professionals who put their lives at risk for their safety at the brink of exhaustion at the height in the pandemic COVID-19. There were many of his relatives and friends who resided in Laguna Beach who were devastated to hear about what occurred to him, according to a spokesman.A memorial flower arrangement near the intersection of Crown Valley Parkway and Coast Highway in which a doctor was riding a bicycle was struck by a vehicle and then assaulted by a driver on Wednesday.
Driver was identified as being 39 years old Vanroy Evan Smith by sheriff’s officials. The driver was detained without bail in the sheriff’s custody on Thursday, and was is scheduled for court appearance on Friday.
Investigators weren’t aware of any previous connection with Mammone and Smith the sheriff’s official said. The investigation is ongoing and anyone who may have information that might assist detectives is encouraged to contact (714) 288-6740, or leave anonymous tips with Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) 847-6227.
On Thursday, numerous arrangements of flowers were hung from a pole for traffic lights close to the spot the site where Mammone was assaulted. The night before, yellow tape was erected around the area of the attack and residents were warned to avoid the area. A section of Pacific Coast Highway was closed during the investigation and was not fully opened until six a.m. Thursday morning, Laguna Beach officials said in a notice.
The traffic was in a stalemate Wednesday night following the incident. South Coast Highway was shut down from Vista Del Sol at Three Arch Bay to Crown Valley Parkway while the investigation into the incident was in progress.
