Results tagged “crash” from Crime & Courts

Torrance police have issued this statement on this morning's big crash at Sepulveda and Crenshaw boulevards:

On October 23, 2009 at approximately 0740 hrs, Officers form the Torrance Police Department received a call of a major traffic accident at the intersection of Sepulveda and Crenshaw Blvd.

Upon the officers arrival, they discovered that four vehicle's were involved in the traffic collision. A dark Gray Infiniti driven by a male adult struck a motorcyclist and then struck a Silver Toyota Camry. The motorcyclist that collided initially with the Infiniti then struck a Green Nissan Sentra that was in the westbound left turn pocket to go southbound on Crenshaw Blvd.

The motorcyclist was transported to Harbor - UCLA in serious condition, the driver of the Infiniti was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in stable condition and the driver of the Camry went to Torrance Memorial for treatment of minor injuries.

The collision is being investigated by the Traffic and Special Events Division, Commanded by Captain David Smith.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information regarding the collision is encouraged to contact the Torrance Police Traffic Division at (310) 618-5557.

A 19-year-old Carson woman was killed today when she crashed on freeway off-ramp in Long Beach, police said.

The woman was traveling south on the Long Beach (710) Freeway at 4:15 a.m. when she lost control of her 1993 Acura Integra, Long Beach police Officer Jackie Bezart said.

The car rolled over and came to rest on its hood on the Sixth Street offramp. No other vehicles were involved.

Long Beach fire paramedics responded and pronounced the driver dead at the scene.

Accident investigators are trying to determine what caused the crash.

The freeway was closed, but has reopened.

The woman's name was not immediately released pending notification of relatives.

Anyone with information about the crash should contact Long Beach Police Department traffic Detectives Sirilo Garcia or David Lauro at 562-570-7355.

Waiting to get some details on a big crash early this morning in Redondo Beach.

Apparently a Toyota pickup truck with four men inside crashed into a curb and overturned at Diamond and Prospect avenues.

Three suffered minor injuries and were taken to two hospitals, but a fourth suffered major head trauma. He was taken to County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

It happened about 3 a.m. No other vehicles were involved.

Alcohol possibly was a factor, police said.

More later.

This came out on our newswire a little while ago about an event in Van Nuys:

Los Angeles police today sought a man who crashed a vehicle into three parked cars, then got out and ran -- carrying a baby in a car seat.

The wreck in the 7600 block of Kester Avenue was reported at 12:17 p.m., and police were
looking for the suspect, according to an officer at the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division.

Paramedics were sent to the scene, but apparently no one was injured, said city fire spokesman Brian Humphrey. 

A Wilmington man was killed Friday when he crashed into a light pole in Long Beach, police said.

The 23-year-old man died in the 4 a.m. crash on Pacific Coast Highway near Caspian Avenue, police said. No other cars were involved.

The man was driving west on Pacific Coast Highway in a 2995 Ford Mustang when he veered to the right and struck the pole.

Long Beach paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash was under investigation and it was unknown whether alcohol was a factor, police said.

The man's name was withheld until his family was notified.

People who live in an apartment building in the 16600 block of Crenshaw Boulevard heard a thud last night found a car had struck the building.

According to the police, the driver, Edward Ramirez, 18, of Hacienda Heights, allegedly was drunk and unable to stay in his lane.

After the crash, Ramirez and three buds took off, leaving behind the brand new 2009 Toyota Camry.

Torrance officers found them down the street at a 7-Eleven, figured out Ramirez was the one behind the wheel and arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving. Another teen was arrested for breaking curfew.

Maybe you heard it or saw it. I'm told it was quite a crash.

A guy driving along Island Avenue in Wilmington blew through a stop sign at 10:30 a.m. and struck a car at C Street.

That was unfortunate. It contained three Harbor Division officers on their way to an investigation in an unmarked car.

LAPD Sgt. Michelle Santillan told me it looked worse than it appeared. The officers were taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital- San Pedro for treatment of minor injuries and were released.

The other motorist was treated at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and released.

CHiPs is handling it, but I couldn't find out if the dude got a ticket.

A bicyclist killed when he collided with a garbage truck in Lawndale was identified Wednesday as a Hawthorne man.

Elijah Miclea, 56, was killed at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the accident at Marine Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard, Lennox sheriff's Deputy Tim Crise said.

Miclea was on a bicycle on the southeast corner when the Waste Management truck made a right turn. For some reason, Miclea rode his bike into the side of the truck, Crise said.

Miclea was knocked down and fell under the wheels. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Crise told me it preliminarily appears the bicyclist was at fault, but he is continuing to investigate.

If you ever see something like this as you go about your lives, feel free to give us a call or send an email to me. There's a pretty good chance you know something I don't.

Vince Weathermon, uncle of Jakob Weathermon, the young man killed when a big rig truck struck him as he rode his bicycle on the border of Carson and Rancho Dominguez on Tuesday, sent along this photo Friday night.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the picture we used from Jakob's MySpace page the other day. He's a nice-looking kid. But apparently that photo was taken at a time when Jakob, 20, was shaving his head. So his uncle wanted me to show a current photo of Jakob with a full head of hair.

It was taken at his brother's birthday party, two days before he died.

The CHP is investigating Jakob's death and whether the truck driver committed a crime. If you read the user comments below my story, Jakob's family believes the driver should be charged with vehicular manslaughter. These investigations can take some time. We'll check back with investigators to see what happens.

(The incident occurred in an area where one side of the street is Carson and the other is the unincorporated area known as Rancho Dominguez. The CHP will handle the case instead of Carson sheriff's deputies because Jakob was hit on the unincorporated side of the road.)

Family members will hold a service for Jakob today at Luyben-Dilday Family Mortuary in Long Beach.  This is a closed-casket ceremony for friends.

They also have established a Web site for friends to memorialize him.

"Jakob was one of the sweetest kids you'd ever know," Uncle Vince said.  "We are all in serious shock, especially since the sudden passing of my dad 10 weeks prior."
 
 

Some of you might remember Brandon Wexler. He served two tours with the Navy in Iraq and returned unscathed.

In June 2007, he slowed on the Harbor Freeway to aid a disabled motorist. A drunken driver struck his motorcycle from behind and sent him flying.

He was critically injured. Doctors had to repair his crushed pelvis, broken leg, and damaged internal organs. He was lucky to survive.

When I covered the story, I visited him at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. The ICU waiting room was filled with guys just back from Iraq who had arrived to support their friend.

Wexler, now 24, spent four months in the hospital.

I followed up on him the other day. This time, it's all good news.

Although Wexler has some nasty scars from repeated surgeries, and some lower back pain, he said his only other lasting physical problem from the crash is a limp. After doctors put his pelvis back together, one leg is a bit shorter than the other.

He lives in Redondo Beach and recently started a job as an agent for New York Life Insurance Company. He works in Pasadena.

"I'm doing good," he said.

Stories like this don't often end positively. Glad this one did for a change.

(Oh, and I got his number if you want to throw a little business his way. You gotta figure he knows a little something about life insurance.)

We've gotten several inquiries about a car crash we missed over the holiday weekend at Western and Lomita in Harbor City. Sometimes things happen and we don't hear about them right away, especially on a holiday period.

Here's what happened, according to LAPD Detective Rodney Jones:

A guy named Rigoberto Santillan, 20, of Harbor City was north on Western when he allegedly ran a red light and struck Juan Ramos, 47, of Long Beach at 4:45 a.m. Saturday.

Ramos, who had the green, was headed west on Lomita. He was on his way to work.

Santillan's Chevy Suburban hit Ramos' Jeep Cherokee on the driver's side. Ramos was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Santillan suffered minor injuries. He was not arrested, but is expected to face manslaughter charges.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Ramos was a family man, police said.

A Torrance man speeding along the Harbor Freeway was killed early this morning in a crash with a sport utility vehicle, police said.

Another man was injured in the crash shortly after midnight just south of the Century Freeway. 

The Torrance man was 26. His name wasn't available.

The CHP said the man was seen speeding south in a 2000 Toyota. He made an unsafe lane change. The right side of his SUV hit the left rear side of  a 1994 Mitsubishi.

The Toyota 's driver lost control and crashed. He died at the scene.

The 26-year-old man driving the Mitsubishi was taken to a hospital. His injuries were minor.

(Information from City News Service.)

A judge today ordered a Compton man to stand trial in the hit-and-run death of a man who lived in his car near Alondra Park.

Judge Gary Daigh ruled enough evidence exists to prosecute David Wayne Roberts, 29, of Compton in the death of 62-year-old Bill Cunha.

Daigh issued his ruling at the conclusion of a short preliminary hearing at the Compton courthouse.

Roberts is charged with running a red light at high speed and crashing into Cunha's pickup truck, which burst into flames, killing him. Roberts, who initially stopped, then left the scene.

He is charged with vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.

Two witnesses testified that they witnessed the crash and subsequent fire at Alondra Boulevard and Broadway in Carson on Aug. 12. Both said Roberts, who was driving a Chevrolet Avalance, checked to see if anyone was inside the other Chevrolet pickup truck as it burned in front of him.

One witness, Virgil Thompson, said Cunha had a green light and the other driver was traveling at a high rate of speed. A second witness, Eugene Leduc II,  testified that Roberts was panicked at the scene and took off.

Leduc, who was in a nearby parking lot, said he saw a mushroom cloud of smoke rise from an explosion in the street, drove close to it and saw the truck ablaze.

Unable to get through a security gate, he watched Cunha die.

"Basically he was on fire," Leduc said. "Everything was on fire."

Roberts faces charges that could send him to prison for 25 years to life. A convicted robber, the vehicular manslaughter count is charged as a "third strike," meaning he could go to prison for 25 years to life.

Funeral services began this morning for Lt. Gilbert Valderrama, a 19-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Police Department, the force that keeps the peace at county hospitals, parks and buildings. Most recently, Valderrama was a watch commander at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Valderrama was killed in an off-duty crash in Hacienda Heights on July 9. An 18-year-old man also died.

A colleague described Valderrama as a mentor and motivator for those who served under him.

Channel 2 interviewed his wife Tuesday evening.

I had an awfully difficult time last month getting detailed information about a three-vehicle crash on the San Diego Freeway in Carson that killed an 8-year-old Palos Verdes Estates boy.

As I reported, several people were injured in the June 22 crash on the southbound side near Avalon Boulevard.

The boy, Brandon Lundy, was ejected from the 2001 Ford Explorer and died when he landed in the carpool lane on the freeway's northbound side.

The CHP told me the collision happened after the driver of a sport utility vehicle made an unsafe lane change at 65 mph, sideswiped another car, lost control, slammed into the center divider and bounced into another car.

Several others in that car went to area hospitals, the CHP said.

The names of the other motorists and passengers were not released, and I was told no one else was hospitalized. Well, that was completely wrong.

I got this e-mail today from the driver of the "sideswiped" car:

An 8-year-old boy killed in a crash on the San Diego Freeway in Carson on Sunday night has been identified as Brandon Lundy of Palos Verdes Estates.

If anyone knows Brandon's family, please contact me at 310-543-6655 or larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.  I have been unable to locate them.

 A short story will appear in Tuesday's paper about the crash.

It already appears on dailybreeze.com, but will be updated later.

There's sadness over at the Inglewood Police Department.

An officer who served as a Marine in Iraq was killed in a freeway crash earlier this week.

David Eric Frizelle, 29, of Hawthorne died Monday in the crash on Interstate 40 near Ludlow, the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office said.

Frizelle was riding east at 6 p.m. on his 2008 Honda CBR 600RR near milepost marker 62 when he drove into the back of a Federal Express tractor-trailer rig in front of him, California Highway Patrol Officer Taj Johnson said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Frizelle had worked for Inglewood for a couple of years after serving in the Iraq war.

The Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday that a fund had been established to aid the Carson family that lost three children in a crash in Los Angeles last month.

Donations can be made to the Luna Family Foundation, Bank of America Account #2162566318. The fund was established by the Decron Properties Corporation, which employs the children's father, Ignacio Luna.

You can go to any Bank of America branch and make a donation with that account number or send a check to 9001 Lincoln Blvd., Westchester, CA 90045.

The crash occurred May 27 at Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue.

The three children -- two boys, Alexis Ayala, 4, and Carlos Luna, 12, and one girl, Tanya Ayala, 7 -- were killed when a speeding sport utility vehicle ran a red light and struck their van. Both vehicles exploded into flames.

The occupants of the other SUV died at the scene.

A private funeral service will be held for the children on Friday.

Another child has died from injuries suffered in that horrific crash in South Los Angeles on Monday.

LAPD Detective Antonio Lee told me investigators were notified this morning about the fourth child, all from the same Carson family.

The boy, who was 4, had been in critical condition.

The children were in the rear of a van involved in a fiery collision with another van that ran a red light Monday evening at Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue.

The crash also killed a 12-year-old boy who attended Stephen M. White Middle School in Carson, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy.

The female driver was reported in stable condition Tuesday and a man riding in the front passenger seat was in serious but stable condition.

An 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were in stable condition.
.
Two people in the van that ran the red light were burned beyond recognition when it exploded.
Eleven other people were reported injured in the crash.

Coroner's officials and Los Angeles police have not officially identified the injured or dead.

A photograph posted a makeshift memorial, however, identified some of the victims as Alex, Tanya and Alexa Ayala. Another boy, Carlitos Luna, also was among the dead.

Los Angeles police are working on establishing a fund to help the family bury their children.

I am trying to write a story about this family. If anybody knows them or is friends with them, please contact me at 310-543-6655.