UPDATE: Man killed in early morning crash near Agua Dulce

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The driver of a van which had broken down on Highway 14 near Agua Dulce early Wednesday morning was hit by a big rig.

The collision resulted in the van driver being ejected onto the highway where he may have been hit by another vehicle, according to an officer with the California Highway Patrol.

The ejected man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The fatal crash happened about 1 a.m. after a 1996 Chevrolet Astro van northbound on Highway 14 became disabled, blocking the slow lane identified by CHP as the Number 4 lane, south of Escondido Canyon Road.

The van was then struck by a 2010 Freightliner tractor/trailer combination, driven by 40-year-old Eric Chavez of Palmdale, according to a collision report prepared by investigating CHP Officer M. Averbeck.

“The collision resulted in (the van driver’s) ejection from the Chevrolet onto the roadway surface where he may or may not have been struck by another vehicle,” Averbeck wrote in his report.

“The (van driver) succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel on scene.”

CHP officers issued a SIG-ALERT on all but the fast lane – the HOV lane – shortly before 1:30 a.m., with all lanes cleared shortly after 7 a.m.

Alcohol and/or drugs are not suspected to be a factor in this collision Averbeck wrote in his report.

Name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

“We have no ID and no next of kin,” Lt. Rudy Molano, of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner Coroner told The Signal Wednesday morning.

“Our investigators have not completed their report,” he said.

Paramedics arrived at the scene at 1:19 a.m.

“The call came in as an auto collision with a big rig involved,” a Fire Department spokesman told The Signal Wednesday.

“The patient was ejected from the vehicle,” the spokesman said, noting it was unclear from the firefighter’s notes from which vehicle the ejection occurred.

“The patient was DOA,” the Fire Department spokesman said, referring to the patient being found dead on arrival.

CHP officers are continuing with their investigation.

“Witness statements indicate another vehicle may have been involved,” Averbeck wrote.

“As such, we are asking anyone involved, a witness to the incident, or having information about the incident to please contact the Newhall Area of the California Highway Patrol at (661) 294-5540.”

[email protected]

661-287-5527

on Twitter @jamesarthurholt

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