Woman's dismembered body found on 5 Freeway

SUN VALLEY, Calif. Authorities had originally thought the woman's death was suicide, believing the victim may have jumped from the Sheldon Street overpass onto the northbound 5. However, after further investigation, police determined the fence was too high for her to have scaled. Police are now treating the death as a traffic fatality and possibly a homicide.

Motorists alerted authorities at about 9 p.m., believing there to be a dead animal on the freeway, but it was later determined that the remains were human. The woman, who has not been identified, had been run over so many times by unknowing drivers, that her body was dismembered by the time she was found.

The California Highway Patrol is unsure how she died or who else was involved. Officers said they do not know what she was doing on the freeway, whether she was walking on the roadway or if the body was dumped there.

Three lanes were shut down overnight while police cleared the scene.

Anyone with information is urged to call (800) TELL-CHP.