A 17-year-old girl was struck and killed by an SUV on the Hollywood Freeway early this morning in what the California Highway Patrol is investigating as an apparent suicide.

The victim, Cecelia Casas of North Hollywood, was pronounced dead at the scene, said Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Neither the CHP nor the coroner's office had information about what might have motivated the teenager to step into the path of the 2008 Jeep about 1:10 a.m. near the Magnolia Boulevard offramp.

The SUV driver was uninjured, and a field sobriety test administered at the scene showed he wasn't under the influence of alcohol, said Officer Francisco Villalobos of the CHP.

-- Carol J. Williams