Coroner Identifies Man Killed In Crash Reportedly Caused By Driver Having Coughing Fit
PACOIMA (CBSLA.com) — The Coroner's Office Sunday publicly identifed the driver of a pickup truck who was killed when an out-of-control truck careened off the Foothill (210) Freeway and into cross traffic at an underpass.
Jorge Luis Garcia, 33, of Sylmar, died in the 6:40 a.m. Friday crash, at Foothill Boulevard and Paxton Street, said Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed
Winter and Lt. Fred Corral.
Four others were badly hurt, some in critical condition, according to reports.
Officials said the accident likely occurred when a truck driver began having a coughing fit and lost control of his vehicle approaching the
Paxton Street offramp, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Ming Hsu.
"The driver was on the freeway in the number four lane, had a coughing fit, lost control of the vehicle, came down the embankment and onto the offramp," Hsu said.
The truck then slammed into an SUV and a car that were stopped at a stop sign, and then crashed into the pickup truck, pushing it into a dump truck, killing Garcia and injuring the four others.
"We definitely are looking into distracted driving and intoxication," Hsu said. "However, at this point, there are no indications of any of those."
