Driver Shot to Death on Pomona Freeway

POMONA —  A 20-year-old El Monte man was fatally shot Tuesday on the Pomona Freeway by someone who pulled alongside him and then fled, police said.

Fermin Saldivar, was driving east between Garey Avenue and Reservoir Street about 5:15 a.m. when an older model red Honda Prelude pulled alongside and a passenger opened fire, said Sgt. Dave Keetle of the Pomona Police Department.

Saldivar was hit once in the upper torso. His brother-in-law, who was in the passenger’s seat, steered the car off the freeway to a gas station and called police.

Saldivar died at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

No description of the assailant or the driver of the Prelude was available.

Although road rage is being investigated as a possible motive, Keetle said, the brother-in-law “has given no indication anything occurred prior to the shooting.”

Authorities closed a stretch of the freeway to investigate and reopened it at 6:45 a.m.

Kettle said police are looking for the driver of an older black and gray Mercedes-Benz. The driver, described as a white male age 45 to 55, may have witnessed the incident.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the Pomona Police Department at (909)620-2095.