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Authorities are investigating after a man was allegedly bludgeoned to death with a wooden plank on the side of a road in Lancaster on Saturday.

An off-duty correctional officer was traveling north on Sierra Highway around 9 a.m. when he noticed two men on the side of the road, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza.

It was mostly a large piece of wood one of the men was carrying the caught the officer’s eye, Mendoza said. Officials described the object as splintered and said it was about the size of a baseball bat.

The men, who appeared to be walking together, were in the 42000 block of the highway outside Regal Lodge Motel when the man carrying the plank began using it as a weapon, swinging it and striking the other man.

The victim, a 49-year-old Latino man, fell to the ground after he was struck in the head. But the aggressor did not remit his attacks and continued beating the man’s upper body with the splintered wood, deputies said.

After witnessing the gory incident, the correctional officer pulled over and immediately detained the attacker before rendering aid to the victim, Mendoza said. He also alerted local deputies and paramedics to what had happened.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sheriff’s officials identified the attacker as Daniel Nathan Nosch, a 39-year-old white man. He was being held on suspicion of murder.

The wooden plank was recovered from the scene, Mendoza said.

No further details were immediately available.

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