"Atropezaba" made up word?

Question

I have heard this word used many times, including "atropezar" (to run into, bump or trip). Is this really a word? I tried looking it up and could only find it as part of a question posted on a spanish help blog. The blogger also was not sure if it is in fact a word or if it is "journalese" used in newspaper articles. I have recently heard "mientras uno atropezaba al cliente incauto, el otro le robaba su cartera" to mean "while one (bumped, tripped, or ran into) the unsuspecting customer, the other one would steal his wallet". Can someone please shed some light on this word "atropezaba"?. Thank you.

Answer 1

I don't think that's a word.

It's either "tropezaba" or "atropellaba", from the verbs "tropezar" and "atropellar".

Answer 2

I have only heard 'tropezar'...

Perhaps that is what you heard... (?) (tropezaba)