By Andrew Blankstein
Hip hop mogul Marion "Suge" Knight plowed a truck into a group of people in Compton, California, on Thursday, killing one man in what authorities are calling a hit-and-run, Knight's lawyer and law enforcement officials told NBC News. The attorney called it an accident.
He turned himself in for questioning early Friday.
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives were still investigating the circumstances of the crash on West Rosecrans Avenue in Compton, which occurred about 2:55 p.m. (5:55 p.m. ET), a short time after a shoot for the new NWA biopic, "Straight Outta Compton."
The truck "drove backwards, struck victims, then went forward and struck them again as he left," Sheriff's Homicide Detective Lt. John Corina told KNBC. A man who was struck was pronounced dead at a hospital, and a second person was injured, sources with knowledge of the investigation said. The truck Knight was allegedly driving was later found in Westwood, sheriff's officials said. Knight is the onetime head of Death Row Records.
Knight's attorney, James Blatt, said Knight was driving the truck and called it a "tragic accident." Detectives are investigating the incident as a homicide. The identities of the victims were not immediately released.
Knight has had a series of high-profile run-ins with the law dating to the 1990s. He served four years in state prison after being sentenced in 1997 for violating probation stemming from a previous assault; he returned to prison in 2003 after assaulting a parking-lot attendant; and in 2008 he was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of drug possession and aggravated assault, but eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.
More on this story from NBC Southern California
In October, Knight and comedian Micah "Katt" Williams were arrested and charged with robbery for allegedly stealing a paparazzo's camera outside a Beverly Hills studio. If convicted, Knight, who already has a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, could face a maximum term of 30 years to life in jail.
In August, Knight was shot several times during an early morning shooting at a West Hollywood nightclub.
Marion "Suge" Knight is seen in a police booking photo after his arrest for allegedly stealing a photographer's camera in Las Vegas on October 29, 2014.
First published January 29 2015, 7:01 PM
Andrew Blankstein
Andrew Blankstein is an investigative reporter for NBC News. He covers the Western United States, specializing in crime, courts and homeland security. Blankstein worked at the Los Angeles Times over two decades, much of that time covering breaking news, law enforcement and the justice system in Southern California both for the paper and latimes.com.
He was part of the team of journalists that earned the paper Pulitzer Prizes in 1998 for the North Hollywood shootout and in 2004 for the Southern California wildfires. In 2010, he was named a "Distinguished Journalist" by the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Blankstein graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in history and a secondary emphasis on public law.
He joined NBC News in 2013 and is based in Los Angeles.
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