Light bars on an ambulance.
File photo of an ambulance.

Coroner’s officials have identified the woman who died in a late-night chain-reaction crash on the 91 Freeway earlier this week after she collided with a truck that was running out of gas.

Maxine Nowell was an 82-year-old Compton resident, according to authorities.

She was driving a Honda Civic west on the 91 Freeway near Atlantic Avenue around 11:55 p.m. Monday when her car collided with a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that had started to run out of gas, according to a news release from the CHP.

Elderly woman killed in chain-reaction crash on 91 Freeway

The truck’s driver had slowed down to about 15 to 20 mph and tried to pull to the right shoulder when Nowell crashed into the rear of the truck and then veered across all the westbound lanes and ended up with her car facing sideways in the far-left lane, the CHP said.

“Moments after this first collision, the Honda Civic was struck broadside by a Toyota Highlander SUV,” driven by a 29-year-old man from San Pedro, the release said.

Nowell died from blunt-force trauma she sustained in the crash, according to the coroner’s office.

The pickup truck’s driver also suffered a severe head injury and fled the scene of the crash on foot, according to the CHP, who later found him at his home in Compton. CHP officers are continuing to investigate but haven’t arrested the man on suspicion of hit-and-run or any other crime, Lt. David Dashiell said.

“It wasn’t until later examination of the vehicle damage and physical evidence that the officer determined he actually caused the first collision,” Dashiell said. “Releasing the driver allows a more thorough investigation to be completed before a complaint is filed.”

The driver of the Highlander suffered moderate injuries, according to the CHP.

Investigators don’t suspect drugs or alcohol were involved, CHP officials said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with more information from the CHP Friday morning.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.