Motorist Who Killed Pedestrian on 710 Freeway Suspected of DUI

By City News Service

A motorist was facing a possible felony charge today after her car allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian on the southbound Long Beach (710) Freeway in South Gate as she drove while intoxicated, authorities said.

The fatal injury occurred about 8 p.m. Sunday near Imperial Highway, said California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball.

Melanie Gosch, 27, of Long Beach was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs causing injury or death, said CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos.

According to a preliminary report, Gosch was driving a 2007 Nissan Sentra that struck the man, Villalobos said. It was unclear why the man was on the roadway. 

Authorities withheld the name of the dead man, who was in his 20s, pending family notification, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter.

Officers went to the scene in response to a report that a long-haired man in dark clothing was trying to stop traffic in the Number 3 lane of the southbound freeway, Kimball said.

Within a minute, the CHP received a call that a pedestrian was lying in the Number 3 lane, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, Kimball said. A witness at the scene said it happened near the Firestone Boulevard offramp.

The driver of a black Mercedes with a broken windshield and the driver of a black Toyota Prius with damage stopped to say they may have hit a pedestrian on the freeway, Kimball said. Those motorists were not arrested. The investigation was continuing.

The southbound freeway was shut down at Firestone Boulevard for the CHP investigation. The slow lane was reopened at 9:28 p.m., and the remaining lanes were reopened about 90 minutes later, the CHP reported.