Man dies after walking onto road at night

A 55-year-old Bell Gardens resident was killed Wednesday night on State Route 86 by an oncoming vehicle after he walked into the middle of the road for an undetermined reason.

The 55 year old, a Hispanic man whose name was undisclosed, succumbed to blunt force trauma after the impact while the driver, 54-year-old Indio resident Carmen P. Zepeda, sustained minor injuries, stated a California Highway Patrol news release.

At approximately 9:10 p.m. Wednesday, the male victim was traveling northbound on SR-86 in a 1992 Nissan Sentra. It appeared that the victim’s vehicle broke down at some point, causing him to park on the right shoulder of the lane.

At this time, Zepeda was driving her 2016 Ford Explorer also on northbound SR-86 in the slow lane with her granddaughter seated in a car seat in the backseat of her vehicle. According to the news release, Zepeda stated she was traveling at 65 miles per hour.

At some point, the male victim exited his Nissan and walked out into the darkness and onto the roadway. The news release stated the victim was apparently walking in the darkness without a flashlight or reflective clothing during the time Zepeda’s vehicle approached him.

For an undetermined reason, the male victim walked in the middle of the lanes directly into the path of Zepeda’s vehicle. Due to their close proximity, the left front of Zepeda’s vehicle struck the male victim within the slow lane, stated the news release.

Due to the impact, the male victim landed on the left shoulder of the road unresponsive and sustained fatal injuries at the scene.

The force of the impact caused front end damage to Zepeda’s Ford, disabling it in the middle of the roadway.

Zepeda was contacted by law enforcement at the collision scene. It was determined that Zepeda was not under the influence during the incident’s investigation and Zepeda was not arrested Wednesday. The collision is still currently under investigation, stated the news release.