Man Running Across Freeway Fatally Injured

A man who tried to run across the Golden State Freeway in Pacoima was struck and killed by a speeding car early Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The victim’s identity was not known. Investigators believe he lived in a neighborhood near the Paxton Street freeway exit and were attempting to identify him through fingerprints. The man was trying to run west across the freeway just north of the Paxton exit when he was struck about 12:20 a.m. and killed instantly, Officer Dave Padgett said.

“He was almost across all the northbound lanes when he was struck in the fast lane,” Padgett said.

The victim was hit by a car driven by Wayne A. Schoenmakers, 41, of Lancaster. The CHP estimated that the vehicle was traveling 65 m.p.h. to 70 m.p.h. Schoenmakers was treated for minor injuries.

Padgett said it is illegal for a pedestrian to cross a freeway, but because Schoenmakers was allegedly speeding, the accident remains under investigation.

Padgett said that in recent years two pedestrians have been killed attempting to run across the freeway in Pacoima.

“In that area we have quite a few pedestrians running across the freeway,” he said. “For some reason the people find they would rather try to run across rather than walk around a longer distance” to freeway underpasses.