(L.A.) Erick Puente, 36, Died on the 110 Freeway

Case Number: 2025-16486

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 36-year-old Latino male that occurred on the Arroyo Seco (110) Parkway in Highland Park after he led police on a chase in an alleged stolen van.

The coroner’s office identified the man as Erick Puente.

Height: 5 feet 6 inches / Weight: 130 pounds

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death: Blunt-Force Traumatic Injuries

RIP ERICK GIOVANNI PUENTE (August 24, 1989 – October 20, 2025)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Monday.

The decedent had a rap sheet, including an arrest by LAPD’s Newton Division in July for assault with a deadly weapon. His public defenders got the charge dismissed.

The police pursit took place on the 110 Freeway near the Avenue 43 exit in Montecito Heights. The suspect jumped out of a moving van during the chase and was immediately hit by vehicles on the freeway.

The pursuit began in L.A. proper when LAPD officers attempted to stop a stolen van and continued on the 110 (Harbor) Freeway through the Highland Park and Mount Washington areas.

The suspect jumped out through the driver’s side window while the vehicle was still moving. As he emerged onto the freeway’s center divider, he stumbled and lost his balance, tumbling backward off the divider into the southbound lanes. Moments later, he was struck by an oncoming SUV and then by other vehicles, as a news helicopter broadcast the entire sequence live.

Traffic was stopped in order to retrieve the body, and authorities were later able to take a dog out of the abandoned van.