Man Found Dead In Box Truck On I-15: CHP

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Law enforcement officials were at the scene of a homicide investigation alongside Interstate 15 in the Lake Elsinore area for several hours on Saturday, the California Highway Patrol reports. The investigation forced a partial closure in the area until just before 5 p.m.

CHP Officer Mike Lassig tells Patch that the hard lane closure on I-15 southbound, just south of Main Street, lasted nearly nine hours. It was first reported around 7:30 a.m. Saturday and led to severe congestion in the area.

Lassig said it all started when a passing motorist called 911 "reporting that there was an adult female running around and it appeared that there was blood on her person." The CHP responded to the scene and quickly found the woman near a box truck on the right shoulder of the freeway, which had a dead man inside.

"The female, who did have blood on her, who was running around traffic lanes was detained," Lassig said.

CalFire paramedics arrived a short time later and declared the man deceased, Lassig said.

"We have a box truck on the right shoulder, we have a deceased male behind the wheel of the vehicle and we currently have an adult female in custody right now being interviewed," Lassig said as of 12:45 p.m. "She appeared to be the passenger of this white box van."

The woman, who has not not yet been publicly identified, had not been arrested as of 12:40 p.m., according to Lassig.

"The preliminary investigation reveals that this is a homicide scene," Lassig added.