(Magalia, CA) – Butt County deputies responded pre-dawn Monday morning at around 2:00, to a 911 call from 50-year-old Robert Etta in Magalia, from the bed of his pickup, reporting it was being stolen. The 911 dispatcher then heard the sound of a collision, and as deputies & CHP officers arrived at the collision scene on Carnegie Road in Magalia, the pickup was on fire.

Despite life saving efforts, Etta died at the scene.

The alleged vehicle thief, a juvenile whose name is not being released, was injured, taken to a hospital and treated, and was then, booked on a charge of manslaughter.

A press release says that Etta tried to prevent the theft by jumping into the bed of the vehicle as the juvenile was speeding away.