LOCAL : Pedestrian Killed on Freeway
A 19-year-old undocumented alien was killed after he was struck by a car when he and a friend tried to cross the northbound lanes of the San Diego Freeway this morning in San Clemente, the California Highway Patrol said.
Juan Carlos Sotelo, who lived in Fullerton, was thrown about 50 feet after he was hit by the car south of Avenida Pico. Sotelo was pronounced dead on the scene.
His friend, Pedro Valderano, 25, also of Fullerton, was not struck and escaped injuries.
CHP Officer Peter Mann said the two men were attempting to cross the freeway about 4:25 a.m. They had reached the fast lane when they realized that a car traveling about 60 m.p.h. was heading toward them, Mann said.
“The driver changed lanes to avoid hitting them, but the two men tried to run to the right shoulder,” Mann said.
Mann said no citations were issued and an investigation is under way. The CHP officer said Valderano reported that he and his friend were heading back home to Fullerton. “But where they were coming from at that time of the morning, we don’t know,” Mann said.
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