{"id":49297,"date":"2017-11-14T18:17:27","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T18:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/14\/army-veteran-shot-killed-while-trying-to-help-car-stuck-in-ditch\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:01:06","slug":"army-veteran-shot-killed-while-trying-to-help-car-stuck-in-ditch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2017\/11\/14\/army-veteran-shot-killed-while-trying-to-help-car-stuck-in-ditch\/","title":{"rendered":"Army veteran shot, killed while trying to help car stuck in ditch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authorities are looking for information related to the shooting death of an Army veteran over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When authorities arrived, they saw Echevarria had a gunshot wound and no pulse. He was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detectives believe he heard a vehicle having trouble outside, according to the Volusia County Sheriff\u2019s Office Facebook page<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the Army veteran was shot and his truck was stolen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Volusia County Sheriff\u2019s Office is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in Echevarria\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His brother-in-law, Edgar Burgos, works at the sheriff\u2019s office and said Echevarria was the kind of person to help those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you needed something and he had it, he would give it to you,\u201d Burgos said in the news release. \u201cKnowing him, I bet he went over there to see if they needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in the release that they owe it to Echevarria and his family to find whoever took his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt takes a special kind of evil to gun down a stranger who is only trying to help you,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd anyone who knows something and stays silent is complicit in this heinous act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sheriff\u2019s 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\u2019s Office dispatcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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$10,000 REWARD for info leading to arrest\/conviction of the person who killed Carlos Cruz, U.S. Army veteran, shot to death on Veterans Day in Deltona. We believe Mr. Cruz tried to help someone and was killed for his truck. Info: https:\/\/t.co\/cCDpQLfKzc<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PcDyvrxedv<\/a><\/p>— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 13, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>