BERKELEY — A man crushed to death under a car Monday during a suspected attempted theft of a catalytic converter was identified Friday by the coroner’s office as 41-year-old Omar Zuniga.
Zuniga, a transient, was found dead about 8:12 p.m. Monday under a car parked in the 900 block of Folger Street in West Berkeley.
Authorities said it appeared a hand-cranked jack Zuniga used to lift the vehicle had collapsed, causing the vehicle to drop and crush him.
A battery-powered reciprocating saw was also found underneath the rear of the vehicle, officials said, and investigators “found evidence suggesting there had been a recent attempt to remove the vehicle’s catalytic converter,” which had some minor damage.
Authorities said the vehicle did not belong to Zuniga.