Police are searching for the driver last seen behind the wheel of a pickup truck that allegedly caused a deadly chain-reaction crash in National City on Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP asked the public for help locating 45-year-old Raul Brown, the man who was believed to be driving a black Toyota Tacoma that crashed into a stalled car in the emergency lanes of northbound Interstate 5 near Mile of Cars Way on Saturday.
According to CHP, the driver was speeding and attempted to illegally use the center median to pass a slower moving vehicle. That's when the truck struck an empty car stopped in the lane.
The truck overturned and pushed the stalled car into traffic, where it crashed into another vehicle.
Then, an oncoming Honda CR-V slammed into the wreck, CHP said. The driver of the CR-V was killed. He was later identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as 36-year-old Luis Felipe Marin.
When CHP officers arrived at the crash site, the driver of the truck that allegedly started the chain reaction car was nowhere to be found.
CHP did not call Brown a suspect but said he was the "last known driver" of the truck. Investigators have attempted to locate Brown but have not been successful, CHP said.
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“During our investigation, we contacted the registered owner and got information about the possible last known driver of the pickup truck,” CHP Sgt. Sofia Mosqueda said.
Officers previously told NBC 7 they had leads on the driver's identity and had notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in case the driver attempts to cross into Mexico.
Anyone with information on Brown's whereabouts was asked to contact CHP at (858) 293-6028.
