A woman sleeping in her SUV awoke to strange sounds underneath her vehicle and slammed it into reverse, Los Angeles police said. Then she felt a bump.

[–>

Police responding to her 911 call at 5:56 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, discovered she had backed over and killed an accused catalytic converter thief, a news release said.

[–>

Another man and two women were detained at the scene, police said. Their names were not released.

[–>

The four had pulled into a space next to the woman’s Ford Excursion in a retail parking lot, police said.

[–>

One of the men crawled under her SUV and began sawing off the catalytic converter, waking her, the release said.

[–>

The woman put the SUV in reverse and “felt a bump like she ran something over,” then stopped and called 911, police said.

[–>

Thefts of catalytic converters, which contain precious metals, have soared across the United States, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported.

[–>

More than 14,433 catalytic converter thefts were reported in 2020, compared to 3,389 in 2019, the bureau said.

[–>

The devices, which reduce pollution emissions, contain platinum, palladium or rhodium, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported.

[–>[–>