Car Trouble

The decomposing body of an adult male was found on the side of the Golden State Freeway in Sun Valley on Thursday morning, authorities said. There was no sign of injury to the body, which was found in bushes near the Lankershim Boulevard exit, coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier said. A motorist who had pulled to the side of the freeway with car trouble discovered the body and called police about 4 a.m. An investigation will continue into the cause of death and the man's identity.

About 175 commuters who turned to the Metrolink rail system to avoid getting stuck in traffic found themselves stuck in limbo for nearly 45 minutes Thursday, when their train engineer failed to show up for work because of car trouble. The 7:16 a.m. train out of Moorpark, which had been scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles' Union Station at 8:40 a.m, was 43 minutes late in leaving and did not arrive downtown until about 9:20 a.m., Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said.

A man who was checking his car for problems after leaving a Stanton bar Monday night was kidnapped and taken to a nearby vacant apartment where he was beaten and robbed, sheriff's officials said. Senobeo Ruelas, 41, of Santa Ana experienced car trouble after leaving a bar about 11:30 p.m. He stopped his car at Magnolia Street and Tina Way and was confronted by several men who threw a towel over his faced and forced him back into his car, Sheriff's Lt. Jay Mendez said.

A 43-year-old Sylmar man who apparently was having car trouble was killed when he was struck by a tractor-trailer truck as he stood in the right lane of the Foothill Freeway, the California Highway Patrol reported Thursday. Leroy Calvillo was declared dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred shortly after 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, CHP Officer Chuck Curtiss said.

Marmet Williams scored 18 points and Reggie Geary 16 to lead undefeated Mater Dei over Westchester, 76-60, in the championship game of the Ocean View Tournament of Champions basketball tournament Saturday at Ocean View High. Westchester (7-1), the city's No. 1 team, played without four of its players: starting guards James Gray and James Towns, starting forward Walter Walker and reserve Rico Laurie. The four were said to have car trouble.

Craig Lesley's haunting novel captures the divided life of Pacific Northwest Amerindians. Danny Kachiah and his son, Jack, members of the Nez Perce tribe, grapple with the alienation, alcoholism and despair of contemporary Native American life; they also must confront manifestations of the traditional spirit world, including night ghosts, water devils and a mysterious, whistling apparition who guides them through fire and water.

A 19-year-old woman who stopped at a gas station to make a telephone call early Wednesday was dragged behind the station and raped by three men, police said. The woman was stranded because of car trouble and was trying to call her parents for help when she was attacked, according to Sgt. Mike Relic. The rape occurred behind a service station in the 6900 block of Warner Avenue about 12:15 a.m. Monday, Relic said. The suspects, described as in their early 20s, fled on foot.