20-year-old man gets out of stopped car, is hit, killed on I-5 in San Diego

A 20-year-old Las Vegas man who jumped out of a stopped car during an argument with the driver was hit and killed on south Interstate 5 near downtown early Wednesday, authorities said.

“It appears he was having some type of disagreement with the person he was in the car with,” California Highway Patrol Sgt. Hope Maxson told OnScene TV. “He did get out of the car and he was struck by a vehicle pretty instantly after he got out of the car.”

The crash was reported around 6 a.m. on south I-5 near the transition to east state Route 94.

The woman who was driving the car that the man jumped out of told the CHP her 2-year-old child was also in the car, according to a CHP log. The child wasn’t injured.

The driver who hit the pedestrian told OnScene TV it was still dark when the man exited the passenger side of the car.

“He just jumped out and ran in front of me,” he said.

Maxson told 10News the driver and passenger “were absolutely both frustrated” before he got out of the car. “They were confused as to where they were going, trying to get to a specific location,” she told the station. “He ultimately got out of the vehicle and was struck by another vehicle.”

After the man was hit, the woman ran into the lanes and tried to drag him to the side of the freeway. A driver in a pickup said he stopped and positioned his truck to try to block traffic.

“She wanted me to help her move the body,” the man told OnScene TV. “I was on the phone with 911 and she started to give chest compressions to try to give him CPR.”

Paramedics arrived but the man died before he could be taken to a hospital.

The connector ramp to east SR-94 was shut down as CHP officers completed their investigation.

The lanes reopened shortly after 8 a.m.

Toxicology tests on the man who was killed will be run to determine if he was intoxicated, said CHP Officer Salvador Castro. The man’s name was not released.

The driver who hit the pedestrian stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators. He was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Castro said.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com