SAN DIEGO — Angelo Montoya was driving for DoorDash last week, heading into Ocean Beach to pick up food for his next delivery. But when the 20-year-old sophomore at San Diego State got to the end of Interstate 8 at Sunset Cliffs, he noticed something very disturbing - a man and a woman having a violent altercation.
“She's screaming for help, help, help,” Angelo said. Instead of driving away, he stopped, thinking his presence would de-escalate the situation, but he quickly realized he was wrong.
“The aggressor starts targeting me, telling me to mind my business and I'm like no, she's yelling for help,” Angelo said, telling the man, “back away from her, please. Back away or I'll call the cops.” Angelo said, instead of backing away, the man got closer. “He punched me through the window on my neck. That's when I knew this is way more than I expected.”
Angelo called 911 and told the woman to get in his car. As he's driving away, he thinks that's the end of it, but moments later the camera on his Tesla catches video of the guy pulling in front of Angelo and coming at him again. “He gets out of his vehicle and I was so scared.”
Angelo drove around him, but the guy gave chase. Angelo turned from Sunset Cliffs onto Cape May and the man slammed into Angelo's car, sending the Tesla into several parked cars.
“I see him behind me,” Angelo said recounting the scary ordeal. “I didn't know what to expect and that's when he rammed into my vehicle from the left causing a lot of damage.”
The man ran away, but was later arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
The woman escaped without any serious injuries.
And Angelo?
“I had a lot of soreness to my neck, my lower back and calf on my right leg was hurting.” He was treated at the hospital and released, but his car is a total loss. “It was a Model 3 Tesla 2022. I almost had it paid off.”
Without a car, Angelo can’t do his job. He’s started a GoFundMe asking for help to pay his bills until insurance pays him to get another car.
Angelo says he still gets nervous thinking about what happened, but knows it was the right thing to do and would do it again to help another stranger in distress.
“Of course, I would help again, but I don't know what to expect now. Just be ready for everything... anything and everything.”
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