(L.A.) Jose Martinez, 24, Died on the 5 Freeway
Case Number: 2023-07677
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 24-year-old Latino male that occurred on the freeway.
The coroner’s office has identified the man as Jose Martinez.
Manner of Death: Accident
Cause of Death: Blunt Traumatic and Thermal Injuries
RIP JOSE MARTINEZ (January 12, 1999 – June 24, 2023)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Saturday at 3:05 a.m.
The decedent was one of four active-duty U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton who died in an off-duty single-vehicle accident in Downey.
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An early morning freeway crash Saturday claimed the lives of FOUR people in Downey.
California Highway Patrol officers responded at approximately 2:30 a.m. to the southbound Santa Ana (5) Freeway, north of the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, where they found the victims of the single-vehicle crash. They were all pronounced dead at the scene.
The car was a 2018 Dodge Charger.
“Preliminary information indicates that the driver lost control of the vehicle at a high rate of speed causing the vehicle to collide with a guardrail and the bridge abutment of the Lemoran Avenue pedestrian overcrossing,” the Californian Highway Patrol said in a statement. “The force of the impact caused the vehicle to split in two, subsequently ejecting the two rear passengers onto the right shoulder.”
The rear end of the car was found approximately 100 feet south of the front end.
“The driver and front passenger remained inside the front portion of the vehicle which became fully engulfed in flames against the sound barrier wall,” CHP stated.