The Pacific Coast Highway and the westbound 10 Freeway were closed for hours early Friday in Santa Monica after a body was found, police said.
The discovery was made just after 3 a.m. in the 1200 block of PCH, according to the California Highway Patrol.
It was not immediately clear how the person died, but investigators said it was possible the victim was hit by a car or they could have fallen from the cliff above the highway, according to Sgt. Mike Boyd with the Santa Monica Police Department.
Santa Monica police Sgt. Joe Cortez later clarified there had been no indication that the incident was traffic-related, and an investigation into the person’s death was ongoing.
As the investigation continued, a SigAlert was issued around 3:50 a.m. and the westbound portion of the 10 freeway would be closed at Fourth Street for an undetermined amount of time, CHP’s incident log stated. PCH was also shut down in both directions in the area.
The southbound side of PCH was reopened around 6:30 a.m. The northbound PCH and 10 Freeway were reopened around 8:15 a.m. after the SigAlert was canceled, CHP tweeted.
No further information was immediately available about the death investigation.
KTLA’s Justin Burton contributed to this story.
