A woman was killed after she ran across multiple lanes of freeway traffic in Castaic early Tuesday morning, according to law enforcement investigators.
The woman, whose identity had not yet been released as of the publication of this story, was described as an approximately 30-year-old pedestrian who was struck by a big rig at approximately 2:15 a.m. on the northbound side of Interstate 5, near Lake Hughes Road.
According to a California Highway Patrol Newhall Office incident report, the big rig, a 2016 white International Navistar, was traveling northbound at approximately 55 mph “when a female pedestrian ran across traffic lanes and was struck.”
“The vehicle was driven by a 39-year-old male and the pedestrian was a female, approximately 30 years of age,” the CHP report reads. “The vehicle collided into the pedestrian within traffic lanes, which caused the pedestrian to travel several feet before coming to rest.”
The woman was soon after pronounced dead at 2:23 a.m. upon the arrival of Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel.
The far-right lane on the I-5 was closed for approximately 3.5 hours due to the investigation, according to CHP investigators.
The cause for the woman running into traffic was not immediately clear as of Tuesday morning, and investigators said it remained unknown whether drugs and/or alcohol are factors in the collision, pending investigation.