Pedestrian Struck, Killed On 5 Freeway In East LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a pedestrian who was apparently trying to cross the southbound lanes of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway was killed after being struck by multiple cars in East Los Angeles.
The incident was reported to authorities just before 3 a.m. Sunday.
CBS2's Joy Benedict reports that initial calls placed indicated that a man was walking along the highway. Those calls, however, quickly changed as the pedestrian was hit.
At this time, officers believe the victim is a transient.
"We haven't confirmed who this person is. We haven't ID'd who it is. We do know it's a Black male adult, probably mid-50s," said Ofc. Juan Galvan of the California Highway Patrol.
Investigators say a couple of drivers dialed 911 and even stopped after running over the body.
Authorities say the initial driver, however, did not stop. They believe that person's car sustained significant front-end damage, possibly even a broken windshield.
"You're probably traveling about 65-70 miles an hour through here, you hit a person, you're gonna know," Galvan said.
But officers say that driver callously kept going, leaving the man to be run over again.
The collision led to a temporary closure of the three left lanes of the highway.
