Driver Survives Crash, Dies Crossing Freeway

A motorist who apparently fell asleep at the wheel survived an early-morning crash in Newhall Wednesday, only to be killed when he was run over by at least three hit-and-run drivers as he tried to walk across the Golden State Freeway, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

CHP Officer Harry Ingold said an unidentified man in his mid-20s was driving a sedan north on the freeway near the Calgrove Boulevard exit at 5:35 a.m. when he apparently fell asleep and ran into the back of a 1982 Cadillac driven by Lawrence Spitz, 56, of North Hollywood.

The Datsun swerved into the center divider, Ingold said, and the driver and a passenger managed to escape with minor injuries.

The passenger, 26-year-old Sanford Farrar of Escondido, was treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia and released a few hours later, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Spitz was not injured, Ingold said.

Ingold said the victim was killed when he tried to walk across the southbound lanes of the freeway immediately after the accident, apparently looking for a call box. At least two other cars ran over the man after he was killed, Ingold said.

One of the hit-and-run drivers called the CHP after hearing of the death on the radio, Ingold said. That driver is not believed to be responsible for the death and is not being charged, Ingold said.

Ingold said Farrar, who was en route to Portland, Ore., said he knew the driver only as “Roy.”

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has scheduled an autopsy for today.

Ingold said CHP officers are continuing to search for the other drivers involved in the accident.