An Uber passenger was killed Saturday when she walked into the path of oncoming traffic on the eastbound Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Mission Hills after she allegedly assaulted the driver and was physically removed from the vehicle.
Officers received a call about a pedestrian sitting in the No. 3 lane of the freeway at 12:30 a.m. and responded to a location just east of Sepulveda Boulevard at 12:45 a.m. and were told the pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle and died at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A preliminary investigation determined the woman was a passenger in a Honda Accord when she began assaulting the Uber driver, causing small cuts and breaking the driver's glasses as he drove the woman home, the CHP said.
The Uber driver pulled to the right shoulder of the freeway and exited the vehicle to try to remove the woman from the car when the woman jumped over the center console and into the driver's seat and attempted to drive away.
The driver removed the keys from the ignition and attempted to pull the woman out of the vehicle, the CHP said.
The driver managed to get the woman out of the car and she continued assaulting him until he was able to get back into the car and pull away, at which time, for unknown reasons, the woman walked from the shoulder of the freeway and into lanes of traffic where she was struck by at least one vehicle, described as a 2008 Nissan Altima, and killed, the CHP said.
The sequence of events remain under investigation, the CHP said.
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The woman's name was not disclosed and no arrests were reported.
Anyone who witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it was asked to call the CHP's West Valley office at 818-888-0980.
