Traffic began recovering around 11 a.m. from the backup which began around 5:30 a.m. when a man was hit and killed. It is unknown exactly why he ran into the lanes but he may have left a clue behind in his SUV.
Commuters arriving at the scene had no idea what was going on or how long they would be stuck there. It all started with a two-car crash on northbound 280 -- a tangled SUV and Honda left disabled in the left-hand lanes around 5:30 a.m. The driver of the SUV didn't wait around for help.
"He ran across the northbound lanes first and then saw that there was no shoulder over here, turned around and ran back across the northbound lanes, was not struck, jumped the center-divide and ran into southbound lanes where he was struck," explained CHP Officer Mike Ferguson.
The CHP says the man had a duffle bag with him when he was hit and killed. It had nothing in it except personal belongings but back in the SUV, officers found a small-caliber rifle and a BB gun. They don't know if that has anything to do with the fact he ran.
"It's very early in the investigation. We're going to do a lot of following up to find out what his possible motivations were for getting out of his car," Ferguson said.
The mysterious chain of events brought traffic to a standstill for nearly two hours. The backup had drivers out of their cars, wandering around. "We've all become fast friends out here," one commuter told ABC7 News.
Commuters said they had never seen anything like it. "Not like this. Not like this. This has been the worst," one man said.
The CHP believes the man was hit more than once but as of Friday morning, only one driver had come forward and admitted to being involved. That driver is not necessarily in any trouble and the CHP is asking anyone who think they may have struck the man to come forward.
The woman who was driving the Honda is OK, but was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
