OAKLAND — A man believed to be the victim of a hit-and-run was found lying dead and wearing only underwear on the 12th Street off-ramp near I-980 shortly after 5:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Officer Adib Zeid said the man appeared to have died after he was struck by a vehicle while walking on the roadway near downtown Oakland. The man had suffered major trauma and was confirmed dead by 6 a.m., not long after a passing motorist first reported the body.
Authorities closed off the 12th Street exit around 6:15 a.m., but the roadway was reopened by 8 a.m.
The identity of the man was not immediately available, pending efforts to notify his family by the coroner’s office.
Zeid could not say what exactly led up to the man’s death.
However, officers have located a motorist believed to have struck the man with his vehicle without stopping. The motorist was cooperating with investigators.
Pedestrian deaths are not uncommon on the 12th Street offramp, where Zied said many homeless people cross the freeway. In May, a man was struck by a vehicle and killed while on foot on the 12th Street off-ramp.
Anyone with information on the man who was killed or details about how he died can call the CHP Oakland office at 510-457-2875.
