Teenager is killed while flagging for help on I-5
A 14-year-old boy was killed by a pickup truck late Tuesday as he tried to flag down help in the middle of Interstate 5, officials said.
Authorities are still searching for the driver of the dark-colored truck, which was pulling a trailer.
The boy was riding with his uncle in a 1996 Dodge minivan when the vehicle broke down in a center lane of the Golden State Freeway south of California 14 near Sylmar.
Just after 10 p.m., the teenager jumped out of the vehicle to get assistance, Officer John Lutz of the California Highway Patrol said.
The boy’s uncle, Alejandro E. Rios, 33, of Santa Paula, tried to order the boy back into the vehicle, Lutz said.
Authorities declined to release the boy’s name.
The truck hit the teen and the van, then a 1991 Acura Integra swerved to the right to avoid the accident but hit the van and a BMW.
A 1994 Acura then rear-ended the BMW. No other injuries were reported.
The CHP is still investigating the incident.
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susannah.rosenblatt @latimes.com
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