Man Dies When Truck Crushes Car

A man who stopped his car on the Golden State Freeway north of Castaic was killed instantly Monday when a tractor-trailer truck plowed over his car from behind, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The victim, believed to be about 30 years old, had not been identified, officials said. CHP Officer A.J. Torres said officers do not know why the man stopped his station wagon in the southbound traffic lane. Investigators detected the strong odor of alcohol in the wreckage of his car.

The accident occurred about 4 a.m. just south of Hungry Valley Road, the California Highway Patrol said.

Alfred Ralph Morales, 47, of Fresno was driving a tractor-trailer rig loaded with construction materials at about 50 m.p.h. He told investigators that he did not see the station wagon stopped on the roadway in front of him and drove over the top of the vehicle, Torres said.

The cab of the truck stopped on top of the car, crushing it. The two vehicles skidded about 600 feet down the grade and onto the freeway shoulder, where a guardrail prevented the vehicles from plunging 200 feet into the Pyramid Reservoir.

The body of the victim could not be removed until a tow truck lifted the truck cab off the station wagon.