Loves ones remembered a teen who was fatally struck by a big rig on the 5 Freeway after getting out of a crashed car. Kate Larsen reports from Saugus for the NBC4 News at 11 on Saturday, March 8, 2014.
A teenager who got out of a car after being involved in a crash on the 5 Freeway early Saturday was struck and killed by a passing semi-trailer truck whose driver did not stop, the California Highway Patrol said.
The teen, identified as 18-year-old Blake Cook, was riding in a Honda Accord with two friends about 4:20 a.m. when they struck another big rig that was blocking several lanes of the 5 Freeway through Sun Valley, the CHP said.
When Cook tried to run out of the roadway, he was fatally struck by the truck, the CHP said.
A search was underway for the hit-and-run driver.
Cook's friend, 20-year-old Eddie Camargo of Saugus, was behind the wheel of the Honda at the time of the initial crash and was not injured, investigators said. Camargo was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.
The other passenger was also uninjured, the CHP said.
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Investigators said a fourth vehicle was involved in the crash, but it was unclear how.
Cook was recently a student at Valencia High School.
Hundreds of mourners showed up at a vigil for Cook at Central Park in Santa Clarita on Saturday night.
They described Cook as a funny and outgoing man who will be missed.
"He was the one and only Blake Cook - there was nobody like him," said one mourner.
Cook is survived by his parents, an older brother and two sisters.
