CHP officers find coffin on highway shoulder in San Luis Obispo
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – California Highway Patrol officers had an unusual Sunday as they started receiving multiple calls about a coffin on the side of the road.
"Never a dull day. Especially when you receive multiple 911 calls of a casket on the shoulder of the freeway," the San Luis Obispo CHP tweeted on Monday. "Never know what the day has in store. We have to admit our officer was a little nervous to make sure it was empty. And YES it was empty."
Yep, it's a coffin. Yep, it was on Santa Rosa near Walnut yesterday and yep, it's never been occupied. The owner was taking it to the Swap Meet on Sunday morning, never made it & was trying to sell it to passersby. Thanks to everyone for their concern. #keepingSLOinteresting https://t.co/65LQquZgvj
— San Luis Obispo Police Department (@SLOCityPolice) July 11, 2022
The CHP started receiving calls about the casket on southbound Highway 101 at Santa Rosa Street at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to Officer Miguel Alvarez.
Officers discovered that a homeless woman was pushing the casket along the highway herself in an attempt to sell it at the Swap Meet, Alvarez told News Channel 3-12.
She had found it in a trash pile outside of a building that was being remodeled and got permission from a construction worker on-site to take it so that she could re-sell it.
When officers found the woman and the casket, they told her that it was illegal for pedestrians to be on the highway and asked her to roll the casket off, Alvarez said, adding that she complied.
Police confirmed that the casket had never been occupied, and there were no missing casket reports filed to the Sheriff's Department or local law enforcement, Alvarez said.
The California Highway Patrol emphasized the dangers of pedestrians on highways, saying that it is distracting for drivers along with being dangerous for the pedestrian.
