An employee of a liquor store who appears to have been trying to stop a crime by clinging to the hood of a suspect’s car was killed after he was flung off of the car late Thursday night, according to Long Beach police.

Police said the man was killed around 10:40 p.m. near the intersection of Anaheim Street and Magnolia Avenue.

Authorities think the situation started when the man tried to stop a theft at a nearby liquor store.

“In his efforts to stop the thief, he climbed on the hood of the suspect’s vehicle,” police said in a news release.

The man hung onto the car’s hood for about three blocks before the driver managed to shake him off, police said. The man fell into the eastbound lanes of Anaheim Street. At first police said another vehicle headed in the opposite direction hit him, according to the LBPD.

Police now believe the driver that was heading in the opposite direction was rendering aid to the store’s employee.

Long Beach Fire Department medics tried to revive the man, but he died at the scene, police said. The employee is believed to be in his 50s and a resident of Long Beach, according to authorities, but they haven’t released his name, pending notification of his next of kin.

Both vehicles involved in the crash were gone when police arrived, according to the LBPD.

The car the victim was clinging to was a silver four-door sedan, police said. Its driver was a Black man about 40 years old who was 5-foot-7 with a skinny build, according to the LBPD. He was described as having short, dark hair and a mustache. He was reportedly wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans.

The other vehicle police identified was a white “utility style” van, police said. Investigators don’t think the van had anything to do with the initial theft.

Police asked anyone with information to contact Detective Kelsey Myers or Detective Shawn Loughlin at 562-570-7355. Anonymous tips can be sent through Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional details from police.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from the police about how this incident is being investigated and details on the victim and his injuries.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.