Late Friday night on Interstate 5, a young woman was struck and killed on the southbound side of the freeway just south of Templin Highway, authorities said. First responders were called at about 11:20 p.m., and Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. Investigators believe the vehicle that hit her was a tractor-trailer or semi that kept going and never returned.
CHP Seeks Leads
CHP Newhall spokesman Carlos Burgos-Lopez told The Signal that officers arrived to find a white Toyota Corolla parked on the right shoulder and a woman who appeared to be in her early 20s. Investigators say they believe she was outside that car when she was hit by what appeared to be a tractor-trailer or semi-truck. Why she exited the vehicle is still under investigation.
CHP is asking anyone who may have seen the crash or driven through the area around that time to contact investigators. Even small details, they note, could help them narrow down which big rig or commercial vehicle was involved.
How To Help
The CHP Newhall office lists its main line as 661-600-1600; callers are asked to request Officer I. Rojas, who is handling the case. Anonymous tips can be submitted to LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or via the P3 Tips mobile app.
Investigators say dash-cam footage, cell phone video, photos, or even partial license plate numbers from drivers in the area could be especially useful. Trucking companies are also encouraged to review their vehicles, logs, and on-board cameras for anything that might match the time and place of the collision.
Freeway Safety Context
Hit-and-run crashes and pedestrian deaths continue to plague Southern California freeways, with advocates pointing to hundreds of traffic fatalities across Los Angeles County in recent years. Those cases often remain tough to solve when the driver leaves the scene, especially on high-speed corridors used heavily by commercial traffic, according to BikinginLA.
Local safety advocates frequently argue that more cameras, whether from businesses, public agencies, or passing motorists, can make the difference between a cold case and an arrest. In situations like Friday night’s fatal crash, investigators are effectively racing the clock to track down video before it is deleted or overwritten.
Legal Consequences
Under California law, leaving the scene of a collision that causes injury or death can be prosecuted under Vehicle Code §20001. That statute requires drivers to stop, identify themselves, and render aid, per California law.
If a driver is convicted under this section in a case involving death or permanent, serious injury, the penalties can include prison time and significant fines. How those laws might apply here will depend on whether investigators can identify who was behind the wheel, confirm that their vehicle struck the woman, and determine what role, if any, leaving the scene played in the outcome.
What Investigators Want
Anyone who was on southbound I-5 near Templin Highway around 11:20 p.m. on Friday and has video, photos, a partial plate number, or other information is urged to call the CHP Newhall office or submit an anonymous tip via LA Crime Stoppers. Officials say Officer I. Rojas is the assigned investigator for the case.
CHP notes that even a blurry dash-cam clip or a detail that seems minor to a driver could help them reconstruct what happened in the moments before and after the young woman was hit, and could be key to finding the truck that left the scene.
