One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
405 Freeway Corpse Identified, Man Who Found It Arrested
The man whose body was found near the 405 Freeway on Friday has been identified as being that of Thomas Francis Leamy, a 59-year-old patient of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center who left against medical advice. Leamy reportedly walked out of the hospital "a few days ago when told he was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease," reports abc7.com. The man "still had an electrode from a heart monitor attached to his chest" when he was found in some bushes near Wilshire Boulevard and the 405 Freeway. Leamy's family had reported him missing. His body was found by a pedestrian, who contacted the California Highway Patrol, but later "was arrested for refusing to identify himself and being on the freeway illegally."