An 18-year-old male who was run over by a semi on Tuesday has been identified as Derrick Ernest. The victim lists his hometown as the San Gabriel Valley on MySpace, but the coroner says he was living in Las Vegas.

The California Highway Patrol told City News Service that witnesses saw Ernest “acting strangely on the shoulder” of the westbound freeway, near Soto Street in Boyle Heights — right before he reportedly “ran out into traffic where he was hit by the truck.”

The incident occurred in broad daylight, at about 3:30 p.m. Ernest was declared dead at the scene of the accident.

On Ernest's Formspring profile, he says his style “takes a lot from the steam punk sub-genre of Japanese animation.” Also:

“I like to play things safe, I've always been the kind to do that. I don't believe in being a risky person for the sake of the people around me. Spontaneous and a little bit angry, suuuure? Never risky.”

Did you know the victim, or witness his horrific accident? Let us know.

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