Burned body found along 5 Freeway in Los Angeles

Los Angeles firefighters found the burned body of a man at a homeless encampment when they put out a fire along the 5 Freeway in Lincoln Heights early Saturday.

Firefighters arrived to extinguish the small blaze about 1:40 a.m. along the southbound side of the freeway near the North Broadway exit, and found the man’s body in the area, officials said.

“The person was discovered at or near a homeless encampment,” said Brian Humphrey, a fire department spokesperson.

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner‘s Office, the man’s body was found in the encampment. The office’s report on the case said he “sustained severe burns and cannot be visually identified.”

The coroner’s office said other homeless people in the area “indicate his name was ‘David DeLeon’” and he was about 60-years-old. The report did not list a cause of death.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the case.