Pedestrian Struck and Killed on 210 Freeway in East Pasadena Identified

A 45-year-old man who was fatally struck by a vehicle while attempting to run across lanes of traffic on the Foothill (210) Freeway in East Pasadena on Sunday night has been identified by county authorities.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office determined the victim was Richard Owens. His city of residence was not immediately available.

The incident unfolded at approximately 9:31 p.m. Sunday when a woman called the California Highway Patrol to report that she had possibly hit a person in an eastbound lane of the 210 near Madre Street, according to the CHP. A second witness reported seeing a pedestrian struck while running across lanes of traffic, the CHP stated.

Owens was found in the slow lane and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CHP.

Video from the scene showed the body under a white sheet in the far right lane, shielded by a Pasadena Fire Department truck. Two white SUVs were stopped in the off-ramp area after the collision, one of which had front-end damage, according to CHP dispatch records reported by City News Service.

The number of vehicles that struck Owens and the circumstances that led him onto the freeway remain under investigation. The CHP’s Altadena Area office, which has jurisdiction over that section of the 210 through Pasadena, is leading the investigation.

The CHP issued a SigAlert at 10:45 p.m. shutting down all eastbound lanes at Madre Street, where traffic was diverted off the freeway. Caltrans set up a hard closure while investigators and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office worked the scene.

The HOV lane and lanes 1 and 2 were reopened at 12:26 a.m. Monday. The remaining lanes were reopened at 1:30 a.m., according to City News Service.

The Madre Street area, near the Sierra Madre Villa Avenue exit in East Pasadena, is one of the busier stretches of the 210 Freeway as it passes through the city.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the CHP Altadena Area office at (626) 296-8100.