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A man is dead after he was run over by the driver of a car from which he was allegedly trying steal a catalytic converter in Palmdale.

Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 39000 block of 10th Street West, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies found a man lying on the ground near a four-by-four Ford Excursion and another smaller vehicle next to it, the department said in a press release.

Investigators discovered that the driver of the Ford had been asleep in her vehicle when she awoke to a man sawing off her vehicle’s catalytic converter, and she immediately put her car in reverse, the LASD said.

After she “felt a bump like she ran something over,” she stopped her vehicle and called 911 for assistance for the man, the release said.

The suspect was taken by ambulance to Antelope Valley Hospital, where he was declared dead.

The three people, a man and two women, who accompanied the deceased suspect in the smaller vehicle were arrested by deputies.