Boulder Pushed Off Freeway Overpass Kills Passenger After Crashing Through Car Windshield

The pregnant wife of a young father killed by a boulder that crashed through the windshield of their car after being dropped from a freeway overcrossing in Pasadena tearfully pleaded Thursday for information that leads authorities to whoever is responsible for her husband's death.

Guadalupe Gutierrez was driving westbound on the Ventura (134) Freeway in the carpool lane, traveling about 70 mph, when the boulder came down on the couple's 2017 Toyota Corolla about 9 p.m. Tuesday at Orange Grove Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol.

"As she was about to drive under Orange Grove Boulevard, a large boulder -- approximately 30-35 pounds in weight -- suddenly traveled through her front windshield, striking her husband in the front right passenger seat," according to a CHP statement. "It is believed someone purposely threw the large boulder from the Orange Grove Boulevard overpass onto the SR-134 Freeway, causing fatal injuries to the passenger."

"Now he's gone. I'm asking for your help, if anybody saw anything," a grief-stricken Gutierrez said at a news conference outside the CHP's Altadena Area Station.

Gutierrez, 21, drove to Glendale Adventist Medical Center, where her husband, 23-year-old Christopher Lopez of Los Angeles, died of his injuries. She was unhurt, as were her mother and her 4-year-old daughter, who were in the back seat when the boulder dropped into the car.

The boulder, a little smaller than a basketball, was heaved over a fence that runs along the overcrossing, authorities said. Gutierrez said she and her husband recently learned she is pregnant with their second child. "He didn't deserve this," she cried. "My daughter didn't deserve this."

Anyone with information that could help investigators was urged to call the CHP Altadena Area Station at (626) 296-8100. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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