PALMDALE – A 42-year-old Lancaster man died early Saturday morning after falling into the California Aqueduct following a traffic collision on the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway, authorities said.
Anthony J. Beckett Jr. was a passener in a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix, which was involved in a traffic collision at around 1:11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, on the nortbound 14 Freeway, south of Barrel Springs Road, according to a California Highway Patrol report.
After the traffic collision, the Grand Prix stopped, partially blocking the No. 3 lane; and Beckett, a second passenger and the driver all exited the vehicle, the CHP report states.
The second passenger told CHP officers that another vehicle traveling northbound on SR-14 approached the group’s location.
“As the vehicle approached them, Mr. Beckett went over the bridge abutment. Mr. Beckett landed in the waterway below causing fatal injuries,” the CHP report states, citing information provided by the second passenger.
Lifesaving measures were attempted, but Beckett was pronounced dead at the scene.
Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to contact the Antelope Valley CHP Office at 661-948-8541.
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