ROADWAY MAY BE NAMED FOR DEPUTY.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

SAUGUS - A San Gabriel Valley freeway interchange would be named for slain sheriff's Deputy David March under a resolution that is before the state Legislature and is expected to be endorsed today by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The junction of the San Gabriel River and Foothill freeways in Irwindale, where the Saugus resident was gunned down, would be named the Deputy Sheriff David W. March Memorial Interchange if legislators approve the resolution put forth by Assemblyman Ed Chavez, D-City of Industry.

At the request of county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, the board will decide today whether to endorse the resolution.

March was shot and killed April 29, 2002, during a traffic stop in Irwindale. He was a seven-year department veteran and assigned to the Temple station. No arrests were made in the shooting, but investigators suspect a Mexican man who fled to his homeland and is protected by a government that refuses to extradite citizens to the United States if they face life in prison or the death penalty.

Under the resolution, the state Department of Transportation would determine the cost of erecting signs and other plaques to mark the designation at the interchange. Costs would be covered by donations.

The resolution was approved Jan. 8 by the Assembly Fiscal Committee and is awaiting a hearing before the Transportation Committee.

March was a longtime Santa Clarita Valley resident. He graduated from Canyon High, where he played football and baseball. He is survived by his wife, Teri March, who is leading the campaign to extradite the slaying suspect.