A 19-year-old man was hit and killed by two cars after he fled the scene of an accident on State Route 78 Thursday morning.
Oceanside police said the teen was driving a 2015 Mazda 6 eastbound on SR-78 at Barnham just before 4:30 a.m. when he came up behind a 2002 Volvo S80. The driver of the Mazda was going too fast to avoid the Volvo and slammed into the car's rear end.
Both cars lost control before coming to a stop along the right shoulder of the freeway.
Shortly after the collision, the Mazda's driver got out of his vehicle and ran across the eastbound lanes, jumped the center dived and ran northbound across the first two lanes before being struck by two cars "nearly simultaneaously," police said.
A 2006 Mercedes E350 coming up on the initial accident was unable to avoid the Mazda, which was partially blocking traffic in the slow lane.
All but one lane was closed and drivers were being detoured via Nordahl Road. The freeway reopened before 7 a.m.
The drivers of the Volvo and the Mercedes suffered minor injuries and the 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, Oceanside police said.
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It did not appear drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident.
