Highway Patrol

Father, Infant Killed After Walking Into Freeway Traffic

A Beaumont man took his infant son during a fight with the child’s mother and then walked into oncoming freeway traffic while holding the little boy in Beaumont, investigators said Friday.

Both the father and son were struck and killed.

Around 10 p.m. Thursday night, a 23-year-old woman called 911 reporting that she and her boyfriend were in a verbal fight. Before police officers could arrive, the man had walked away from the home with with the child.

Around 10:25 p.m., the man, identified as 40-year-old Miguel Mariscal by his roommate, walked into freeway traffic on the 10 Freeway, east of the 60 Freeway, and was struck by a Prius. The father and child were thrown and struck by two more cars. Both died at the scene of the collisions.

The man's roommate told NBC4 he is baffled by what happened.

"You just don't expect something like this to happen. It's always out of nowhere," said the man's roommate, identified only as James.

James described Mariscal as a hard-working man who was easy to live with, and seemed like a good dad to his 6-month-old son.

"Seemed like any father would be happy to bring up a son. Every man's dream," said James.

James said Mariscal and his girlfriend, the infant's mother, seemed to have a good relationship. He said he saw his roommate just a few hours before the crash and didn't sense anything unusual.

"Got home from work, ate, took a shower," he said.

Investigators with California Highway Patrol do not know why Mariscal tried to cross the freeway with his child, and are working to determine if it was intentional.

"We're all pretty much dumbfounded by the situation," said James.

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