A deadly hit-and-run caused major traffic on Interstate 5 near National City early Saturday morning.
A driver of a black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was speeding in the fast lane of northbound I-5 just north of State Route 54 when he illegally tried to pass a red car by using the center emergency lane around 4:52 a.m., California Highway Patrol said.
In the emergency lane was a disabled car. The pickup truck struck the stalled vehicle and the red car he was trying to pass, CHP said.
Minutes later, while those three vehicles were stopped due to the crash, a grey SUV slammed into the black pickup truck.
When CHP arrived at the scene the driver of the pickup truck had run away and the person inside the grey SUV, later identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as 36-year-old Luis Felipe Marin, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the red car stayed at the scene.
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The CHP said they have leads about the driver's identity and have notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in case the driver attempts to cross into Mexico.
“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.
That driver is described as a 45-year-old man about 5 feet 10 inches.
All lanes of northbound I-5 were closed for an hour and drivers deviated off Highland Avenue until clean-up was done. Later, only two right lanes were open during the investigation.
