SANTA MONICA— A homeless man jumped to his death on the Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday, July 4.
The coroner’s office identified the victim from the holiday suicide as Lucius DeShawn Wade, a 34-year-old homeless man. According to the Santa Monica Police Department, a passerby called at around 4:40 a.m. to report a body in the 1500 block of PCH, north of the McClure Tunnel.
Sergeant Roberto Villegas told the Santa Monica Daily Press that once police officers arrived on the scene, they encountered a driver who said he hit an unknown object while driving. The driver pulled over where he soon encountered police officers on the scene. The driver collaborated with police and took a breathalyzer test which indicated zero alcohol in the driver’s system.
Villegas stated that the victim jumped from the Broadway Bridge and was dragged by the vehicle for several hundred feet. It is unknown whether the cause of death was due to the impact of falling or the traffic-related collision.
The SMPD will be conducting a full investigation of the event, but all evidence points to Wade’s death being a suicide. A pair of shoes were found on the bridge where the victim possibly jumped from, with the body also being found missing a pair of shoes.
The California Highway Patrol closed all westbound lanes of the Santa Monica Freeway at Fourth Street at around 8 a.m., but this was later canceled at around 9:30 a.m.
This is the second suicide in less than two weeks in Santa Monica. On June 26, Jason Alexander, a 38-year-old hypnotherapist, shot himself at Virginia Avenue Park.
