Man leaps to death from Foothill Fwy. overpass

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man whose body was found just after 2 a.m. Friday on the westbound shoulder of the Foothill (210) Freeway.

Los Angeles County Coroner’s Department officials identified the man as Kirk Allen Spiegel, 49. The 2011 Crescenta-Cañada Directory lists Spiegel as a resident of North Glendale.

Spiegel was a Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school teacher who had been on medical leave since last year, said LAUSD spokeswoman Monica Carazo. She was not able to specify Spiegel’s condition or the school where he worked.

Lt. Angela Shepherd of the Crescenta Valley Station said the incident appears to be a suicide and that Spiegel’s body was found underneath the Glendale (2) Freeway overpass adjacent to the Foothill Boulevard on-ramp in La Cañada Flintridge.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Eric Broneer said Spiegel’s vehicle was found on the on-ramp above his body.

Spiegel apparently “jumped off a bridge, 911 was called and he was pronounced dead at the scene,” said Los Angeles County Coroner Operations Chief Craig Harvey.

A relative contacted through Spiegel’s Facebook account said that family members preferred not to comment.