NASCAR star Bobby East has died after reportedly being stabbed at a gas station.
The 37-year-old passed away on the night of July 13 in southern California, police confirm
That evening, officers responded to the 76 gas station in Westminster, Calif., about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, to investigate a report of a stabbing, according to a press release from the Westminster Police Department Detectives. Cops found East on the ground, suffering from a serious stab wound to the chest are. They attempted life saving measures until paramedics arrived and transported the person to a local trauma center, where he succumbed to his injury.
A motive for the attack remains unknown. Two days later, the murder suspect, Trent William Millsap—a 27-year-old homeless man known to frequent the area, according to local authorities—was arrested in nearby Anaheim, police confirmed in the press release. Due to the level of violence he had been exhibiting, the West County SWAT Team was requested to serve the warrant, per the press release.
During the service of the warrant, the West County SWAT Team encountered Milsap. He became confrontational with officers and a police K-9 was deployed. Subsequently an officer involved shooting occurred. The press release states that Milsap was transported to UCI Medical center, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The police K-9 sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound.
According to the press release, the time of the officer involved shooting, Milsap was on parole for armed robbery and had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for an unrelated parole violation.
During his driving career, East—the son of USAC Hall of Fame car builder Bob East—captured 56 career USAC—sanctioned feature victories, with 48 of them in national divisions. The California native took three USAC national driving titles, starting in 2004 with the USAC National Midgets and twice more with back-to-back USAC Silver Crown championships in 2012 and 2013.
As member of Ford's driver development program, East raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Busch Series, now known as the Xfinity Series from 2005 to 2008. He also completed in the ARCA Re/Max Series where he competed at Talladega in October 2005, driving the No. 29 Ford for K Automotive Racing.
"East was phenomenal in USAC National Sprint Cars as well, most notably on pavement tracks," the USAC said in a July 15 statement. "He tallied 15 wins in the series, with the first coming in 2003 at Ohio's Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. He also prevailed at the Milwaukee Mile in 2005 in what remains as the last USAC Sprint Car race held on a one-mile track."