Daily Breeze Breaking News

*Post updated below

The single vehicle accident occurred at about 2:40 p.m. in the 4000 block of Palos Verdes Drive South, which is near Trump National Golf Club.

Two tow trucks arrived on the scene about 4:15 p.m. to remove the truck, which is completely blocking the westbound lane.

City officials hope the truck can be removed by 4:45 p.m.

"Only the east bound lane is open and traffic is moving very slowly in that direction," city officials said in an email alert." Motorists should continue to avoid the area and use alternate routes, if at all possible."

The unidentified driver sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

Updated 5:45 p.m.
"This afternoon's accident on Palos Verdes Drive South between Conqueror Drive and Schooner Drive has been cleared," the city of RPV said in an email. "All lanes of traffic are now open. Thank you for your patience! "

*Updated

Power remains out at the intersection as of 2 p.m. Southern California Edison is estimating power restoration will occur between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

In addition, Torrance Police said about 700 homes are without power in the same area.

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Four motorcycle officers are directing traffic at the busy intersection that's often clogged during rush hour.

Power went out around 8 a.m. and by 9 a.m. there was no estimated time of arrival on the scene for Southern California Edison crews to restore power, a Torrance Police Department spokesman said.

Motorists should avoid the area.

Power company crews are backed up with problems throughout Southern California, especially in places like hard-hit Pasadena where authorities have closed schools and are urging people to stay home. The number of live power lines and trees down on streets have made many roads impassable, officials said.

By comparison, a check of South Bay cities this morning showed relatively few problems outside of a few spot power outages.

According to the City Clerk's election site this morning, Robert Farrell has failed to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot in that special election to fill the 15th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

We're still awaiting word on the three other candidates whose nominating petitions are being verified. The clerk's office has until Thursday to finish the verification process.

Go check out the Pallada which is docked at Berth 87 on San Pedro's waterfront around First Street at Harbor Boulevard).

The ship is carrying a crew of 200 sailors.

Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of tours available on Saturday. But they are free to the first 1,000 people who RSVP at:

http://www.portoflosangeles.org/pdf/flr_pallada.pdf

Hawthorne police have concluded their standoff at a house where two robbery suspects were believed to be holed up all afternoon. SWAT officers entered the house about 9:30 p.m. The suspects were not there.

From the Torrance police:

In order to make repairs to the damaged and downed power poles and power lines on Hawthorne Blvd. in the area of Newton Street that resulted from the traffic collision; Southern California Edison is advising Hawthorne Blvd. will be closed in both directions between Rolling Hills Road and 244th Street for approximately the next 24 hours. Please avoid the area.

A police SWAT team has surrounded a house in Hawthorne where two robbery suspects are believed to be holed up, officers said.

The street robbery occurred shortly after 11 a.m. today near 120th Street and Van Ness Avenue, Hawthorne police Lt. Gary Tomatani said. One of the robbers was armed.

A witness followed the robbers to a house at Van Ness Avenue and 115th Street. Police officers surrounded it and called for the special weapons team.

The crime occurred about six hours after Hawthorne officers resumed policing in the city. Officers from other South Bay agencies had been handling calls since Thursday, when a Hawthorne police motorcycle officer was killed in a crash in Torrance.

Emergency officials are investigating why a helicopter crashed into a Raytheon plant in El Segundo, causing a four-alarm fire, as it was removing air-conditioning units from the building this morning.
The Sikorsky-style helicopter was moving the heavy equipment at about 9:30 a.m. when something malfunctioned and it crashed into the building at 2000 E. El Segundo Blvd, said El Segundo Fire Department Battalion Commander Richard Geyer.
Fire officials put out the large blaze within 40 minutes, and investigators from several agencies descended on the site to try to understand what caused the accident, Geyer said.
The helicopter pilot was taken to a nearby trauma center, but Geyer said he was unsure of the extent of his injuries