Chemicals involved in apparent suicide on Angeles Crest Highway

Officials have closed off part of Angeles Crest Highway after a man apparently took his own life by mixing chemicals to create a toxic substance, authorities said.

[Updated 2:30 p.m.: Authorities have reopened Angeles Crest Highway following an apparent sucide investigation involving a chemical substance].

An adult man’s body was discovered in a vehicle around 10 a.m. Wednesday near mile marker 39.31 of the Angeles Crest Highway, said Lt. Angela Shepherd of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. The location where his vehicle was found is about 15 miles north of the Foothill (210) Freeway in La Cañada Flintridge.

Officials believe the man mixed chemicals to create a poison, she said, and forest roads are closed as a precaution. Authorities are investigating the death as a suicide and are not sure if the man ingested or inhaled the toxic chemicals.
The Angeles Crest Highway is closed between the first turnout and the Angeles Forest Highway, she said.

The roads will be closed until at least 1 p.m., or when officials deem the area safe, said Shepherd.

-- Tiffany Kelly, tiffany.kelly@latimes.com

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