Hotel clerk attacks guests before driving car off pier

A hotel clerk in San Diego is accused of stabbing a guest before driving his car off a pier in a bizarre series of events that ended with his death.

According to the Independent, Aaron Tran, 23, an employee at The Shoal La Jolla Beach, allegedly attacked two women in their hotel room late Sunday night. Police say Tran had checked the out-of-state visitors into their room just hours earlier.

Police say Tran lied his way into the women's room around midnight, making up a bogus water leak. Inside, he flashed his phone at one of the women, showing a chilling message: "Don’t scream, I have a knife. If you scream, I’ll stab you," according to KNSD.

The women didn't back down, though. They fought and bolted. One got slashed on her arm, stabbed in the chest, and had cuts on her hands from fighting back. They called the police immediately after fleeing the room.

Tran took off in his white Honda. Half an hour later, harbor police caught sight of the car tearing around downtown, doing donuts.

Gio Martinez was out fishing with his family when he saw it all happen. "At 80 miles an hour, they just went straight into the water. It did not stop. No brakes at all," Martinez told the local news.

The car flew off the pier by the Midway, sinking fast - 40 feet in 10 minutes. Divers pulled Tran's body from the sunken car around 2:20 Monday morning.

Police found stab wounds on Tran's collarbone. They think he might have stabbed himself at least once. A pocket knife was found inside the recovered car. The motive for Tran's actions remains unclear. He had worked at the hotel for six months and lived with his parents. Police are still investigating what led up to the attack and Tran's wild ride after. They're trying to figure out what set him off.

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The two women are getting help and medical care, but their names are being withheld. No word yet on how badly they're hurt or how they're doing.

As the motive for the stabbing is still unclear, this incident highlights the need for thorough background checks for staff and the need to step up mental health support at workplaces.