Man Fleeing Robbery Hit, Killed on Freeway

A man fleeing across Interstate 5 after robbing a restaurant Thursday in Mission Viejo was struck by a car and killed instantly, authorities said.

The incident began about 11:30 a.m. when the man, described as in his 30s, grabbed about $200 from the cash register as a customer was paying a bill at the Denny’s restaurant in the 28000 block of Marguerite Parkway, police said.

“He ran out the front door,” said Officer Bruce Lian, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. “Then he came through the back parking lot, crossed an embankment, hopped a chain-link perimeter fence and ran onto the freeway.”

A restaurant employee who had chased the robber into the parking lot watched as he ran into the path of a 1995 Lincoln Town Car in a northbound lane, Lian said.

“The driver was driving along minding his own business when the guy comes running out in front of him on the freeway,” Lian said. “There won’t be any charges.”

All of the money was recovered, said Steve Doan, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The robber, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was carrying no identification, he said.

An investigation of the incident was continuing, Doan said.