Woman on Harbor Freeway Struck by Car and Killed; Driver Arrested

A young woman was killed early Sunday when she got out of her disabled car on the Harbor Freeway and was struck by a driver who was later accused of felony drunk driving, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Carlotta Payne, 18, and a friend were driving south on the freeway near 76th Street about 2:30 a.m. when the engine of their car stalled while they were in the second lane, CHP officer Monty Keifer said.

The driver, Chalfonte Beamon, 18, got out of the car and ran across two lanes to use the emergency call box on the shoulder, Keifer said. She signaled to Payne to stay inside the car while she made the call, Keifer said. But Payne got out and stood in front of the stalled car.

When she heard a car skidding toward the stalled Ford, Payne tried to run across the fast lane to the center divider, Keifer said. She was knocked 40 to 50 feet by the car, which Keifer said was driven by Raymond Diggs Jr., 19, of Carson.

She was taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, where she died about two hours later, Keifer said.

Diggs, who Keifer said was driving about 65 m.p.h., was treated for minor injuries at County-USC Medical Center. He was arrested and booked on charges of felony drunk driving. Keifer said CHP officers will seek vehicular manslaughter charges against him.