Keith Epling is searching for answers about his son’s death that he knows he may never find. 

Josh Epling, 21, was hustling on foot across Interstate 15 in Lake Elsinore about 3:20 a.m. Friday, carrying a Wii bowling set purchased for his father for Christmas and a 12-pack of beer, the CHP said.

Josh Epling, moving west to east in the northbound lanes 1.5 miles south of Railroad Canyon Road, was struck in the right lane by a Toyota Scion driven by a Perris woman, according to the California Highway Patrol. The impact threw Epling into the two left lanes, where he was hit by several vehicles in the darkness. Only the woman, who was not faulted, stopped. The freeway was closed for six hours.

In the wake of the accident, Keith Epling, as well as the CHP, pondered several questions. Among them:

Why did Josh Epling scale a chain-link fence and cross the freeway, when he could have used the Olive Street undercrossing less than a quarter-mile away?

Why was he heading back to the east side of the freeway, toward the Walmart where at midnight he had bought the Wii game. He lived with his parents on the west wide of the freeway, almost three miles to the north in Lake Elsinore.

“It’s a mystery to me,” Keith Epling said softly while sitting on his porch Monday night, a candle flickering nearby.

The CHP is trying to provide some answers by reconstructing Epling’s final 24 hours, but there are some blanks.

Officer Nathan Baer said the CHP believes alcohol was a factor but won’t know for sure until it receives test results. The beer had not been opened, he said.

Keith Epling said his son had worked Thanksgiving morning installing blinds and then accompanied the family to San Diego, where it celebrated at the home of Josh’s uncle. Josh went Black Friday shopping upon the family’s return late that night, but instead of catching a ride with friends as he often did, he set out on foot.

Josh Epling was not legally allowed to drive. He was fined early this year for being a driver under age 21 with a blood-alcohol content of .01 or greater, court records show. In June, he was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving. When he later failed to appear in court, a hold was placed on his driver’s license. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

Family members declined to discuss the cases.

STRONG WILLED

Certainly, Josh Epling was a determined person, his father said, and the strong will that he was born with often served him well.

He remembers that when Josh’s pickup got stuck in the beach at Lake Elsinore, Josh refused to quit on pulling it out until he succeeded – an hour and a half later.

Epling also enjoyed tearing apart and fixing his motorcycles, and doing any other kind of handiwork.

“He never gave up on anything,” his father said.

Josh was also such a voracious eater that his friends nicknamed him “Lunch Box.” After his death, they placed a potted tree on the Eplings’ porch with a blue ribbon that read “In Remembrance of Joshua ‘Lunch Box’ Epling.”

“Cleaned out my refrigerator many times,” Keith Epling said. “And he’d go out and burn the calories off as soon as he ate.” Josh loved sports, motorcycle riding and surfing, his father said.

Epling, a 2008 graduate of Lake Elsinore’s Ortega High School, had an older brother and sister and sometimes lived with a friend in San Diego.

He had several jobs in the past few years, including cleaning the horse stalls at the Del Mar race course. Before the Lake Elsinore Grand Prix this month, he helped lay out the course and then posted flags during the motorcycle and ATV races.

Keith Epling said he feels sorry for the woman who struck his son and is grateful for the outpouring of sympathy from Josh’s friends.

“I know Joshua is with Jesus Christ right now, and that’s what’s going to keep me going, my faith in Christ,” Epling said.

Cause of the Lake Elsinore Pedestrian Accident

The cause of the November 18  crash remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol . However, based on the limited information provided by Press Enterprise, the accident remains under investigation.

Pedestrian  Accidents

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