Tragedy struck on a Southern California freeway early Monday morning when a motorist was killed while attempting to fix their disabled vehicle. The fatal incident occurred on the 91 Freeway in Orange County just after midnight, between Green River Drive and the 241 Freeway, KTLA reports.
The victim, who has not been identified, was outside their car when another driver, losing control of their vehicle, collided with them. The impact sent the victim onto the freeway lanes, where they were pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement obtained by OnScene.TV. Meanwhile, the driver who struck the victim did not appear to be injured following the collision.
Details on what caused the driver to lose control and hit the individual have not been released. As a result of the investigation, all westbound lanes except for the FastTrack lanes were temporarily closed, creating a significant backup that extended to the 15 Freeway in Corona. The roadway has since been reopened as crews cleared the scene by early morning, as ABC7 detailed.
In a separate but somehow related incident reported by CBS News, a pedestrian was hit and killed near Anaheim on the same freeway. Curious circumstances surrounded this event, as a witness told the California Highway Patrol a man was in the lanes of traffic "trying to touch vehicles and get them to stop." The Orange County coroner's office was on the scene shortly thereafter, and authorities are investigating if the pedestrian may have been trying to address issues with a disabled car.
The California Highway Patrol has yet to disclose when their reports will be finalized, and the investigation into both incidents are ongoing.
