Army veteran shot, killed while trying to help car stuck in ditch

Authorities are looking for information related to the shooting death of an Army veteran over the weekend.

Carlos Cruz Echevarria, 60, was found dead from a gunshot wound near his home in Deltona, Florida, on Saturday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

A passer-by called the police around 8 p.m. after finding Echevarria lying behind a car that was stuck in a ditch near Malaga Avenue and Puritan Street.

When authorities arrived, they saw Echevarria had a gunshot wound and no pulse. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives believe he heard a vehicle having trouble outside, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Echevarria tried to help by bringing his truck to pull the car, which turned out to be stolen, free from the ditch where it was stuck, the news release said.

Instead, the Army veteran was shot and his truck was stolen.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in Echevarria’s death.

His brother-in-law, Edgar Burgos, works at the sheriff’s office and said Echevarria was the kind of person to help those in need.

“If you needed something and he had it, he would give it to you,” Burgos said in the news release. “Knowing him, I bet he went over there to see if they needed help.”

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in the release that they owe it to Echevarria and his family to find whoever took his life.

“It takes a special kind of evil to gun down a stranger who is only trying to help you,” he said. “And anyone who knows something and stays silent is complicit in this heinous act.”

The sheriff’s office urges anyone with information to report it. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS, online at westopcrime.com or via the app available for download on the website. Or call 386-248-1777 to speak to a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher.

In Other News

The man who made Belleau Wood — and the Marine Corps — immortal

Floyd Gibbons made history when his dispatch got past the wartime censor.

Vets advocates push Supreme Court to dump laws punishing homelessness

A case being considered by the Supreme Court could have far-reaching impact on efforts to help homeless veterans.

Special Forces soldiers in NW Florida still awaiting child care center

A decision on whether Special Forces families will get a child development center at Camp "Bull" Simons, Florida, may arrive in the coming weeks.

MacArthur still endures as a larger-than-life figure — for good or ill

Few subjects in military history are more loaded than public perception of Douglas MacArthur.

January 6 convict asks for light sentence in order to remain in Navy

An active-duty service member convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack urged a judge for a light sentence in order to remain in the Navy.

Load More