A CHP officer checks out a casket that a man was rolling along Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo on Sunday.
A CHP officer checks out a casket that a man was rolling along Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo on Sunday. (California Highway Patrol photo)

California Highway Patrol officers on Sunday spotted a strange sight: a person pulling a casket along Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo.

The CHP received multiple 9-1-1 calls at about 7:45 a.m. regarding a person rolling a casket on a wheeled stand along the side of the southbound freeway at the Santa Rosa Avenue exit, CHP Officer Miguel Alvarez said.

“We have to admit our officer was a little nervous to make sure it was empty,” the CHP wrote on Twitter on Monday. “And YES it was empty.”

“Never a dull day,” the agency added.

Officers responding to the scene discovered that the person, who Alvarez said is transient, came into possession of the coffin after it was abandoned at a nearby construction site.

The officers asked the unidentified person to roll the burial container off the highway to avoid distracting drivers or being hit by a car, Alvarez said.

“We want to make it clear it’s never safe for pedestrians to walk on to the freeway,” Alvarez said.

It’s unclear how the casket ended up at the construction site.

“We have no reports of a stolen casket anywhere in San Luis Obispo,” said Alvarez, adding that he confirmed that fact with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

Sara Kassabian is a reporter for the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Contact her at skassabian@thetribunenews.com.