Pedestrian Fatally Struck On I-8 In El Cajon

EL CAJON, CA – A man who initially walked off a freeway after he was contacted by officers, walked back onto the freeway before he was struck and fatally injured by cars on both sides of Interstate 8 in El Cajon, authorities said Friday.

Dispatchers received multiple reports around 9:30 p.m. Thursday about a man walking in traffic lanes on westbound Interstate 8 near East Main Street, California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Garrow said.

CHP officers responded to the area and contacted the man, who left the freeway through a perimeter fence, Garrow said.

Officers attempted to contact the man again off the freeway, but learned that he had entered the westbound I-8 offramp at East Main Street and was walking eastbound in the westbound traffic lanes, Garrow said.

Authorities began running traffic breaks on both sides of the freeway in an attempt to stop traffic, but a 60-year-old woman behind the wheel of a Nissan Sentra struck the man in one of the westbound lanes, the officer said.

After the collision, the man got up and ran into the eastbound lanes of I-8, where he was struck by a Lexus IS 200 sedan driven by a 45-year-old man and then a Honda Accord driven by a 22-year-old woman, Garrow said.

The unidentified pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

All three drivers were uninjured and remained at the scene to cooperate with investigators.

– City News Service