Body Identified as Canoga Park Boy
A body found in a truck at the bottom of a ravine off the Simi Valley Freeway has been identified as that of Christopher Scott Martin, 16, of Canoga Park, the California Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
Martin was reported missing March 15 after a family dispute and had not been seen until Tuesday afternoon, when his wrecked Chevrolet truck was discovered by a passing motorist, CHP Officer Michael Costello said.
Senior deputy Ventura County coroner Mitch Breese said an autopsy Wednesday concluded that Martin suffered a “traumatic chest and abdominal injury” as a result of the crash.
“We still have to do some investigation to determine the manner of death--whether it was accidental, suicide, whatever,” said Breese, who estimated that the death occurred about Sunday.
The youth was alone in the vehicle and was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, CHP spokeswoman Staci Morse said. Investigators are uncertain what the teen-ager was doing in Ventura County.
The coroner’s office and CHP officials were continuing an investigation.
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