Results tagged “californiahighwaypatrol”

A 28-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway has been identified as one of the DUI-related high-collision areas in Los Angeles County. Between 2005 and 2007, 19 people died and 619 were injured in crashes involving a drunk driver along the corridor between North Hollywood and Westlake.

Never will we understand why people don't like or forget to wear seatbelts, but it happens all the time. Many like to complain, citing the usual government fundraiser line, but if you look a little closer, there are two facts to consider. Obviously one is the safety factor: seatbelts save lives. There are those who will call survival of the fittest in those cases, but many survive seatbelt-less crashes, ending up in the hospital. And that's where we have a big problem: who foots the bill for those drivers without drivers or health insurance?

A crash involving four vehicles prompted a SigAlert on the eastbound 118 Freeway during rush hour this morning. A witness told police that a driver of black honda was text messaging prior to hitting a bus, spinning out and hitting other vehicles. Another bus and a box truck were also involved in the crash, which was located before Reseda Boulevard.

Last year, 40 people died statewide on roadways patrolled by the California Highway Patrol during Labor Day weekend. This year the number plummeted to 12 with 9 of those victims found not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. “Wearing a seat belt needs to become a habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Buckle up every trip, every time. It may save your life or the life of someone you love.” (we actually feel naked when our seat belt is not on). Also, DUI arrests were down 11 percent this year with 1,417 people caught by officers statewide. Last year, there were 1,586 DUI-related arrests. “Making an arrest is far easier than having to make a notification to the family member of someone whose life was cut short by a drunk or drugged driver," said Farrow. The agency credits the decline to their Maximum Enforcement Period they instituted, which assigns every available officer to the roads.

It's the last holiday weekend of the summer and that means more drinking and driving than usual. Last year Labor Day, 40 people died on California freeways--half of those killed were not wearing a seat belt, according to the California Highway Patrol. That said, the agency will begin a Maximum Enforcement Period statewide at 6:01 p.m. through midnight on Monday, meaning every available officer will be on the road keeping a vigilant eye out for errant drivers, mainly for violators of the three major causes of highway deaths: speeding, drinking and driving and not wearing a seat belt.

If you saw that car chase going up the 405 this morning, here's what happened, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers attempted to pull over a man driving northbound on the 405 freeway in the Carson area around 8:45 a.m. But the man fled, going up to speeds of 90 miles per hour (he was going opposite of rush hour traffic at times). He made his way to the San Fernando Valley, hooked a right onto the 118 Freeway before heading back south on the 5 Freeway, exiting at Roscoe Boulevard in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley. The chase ended around 9:40 a.m. in the driveway of a house on a side street in neighboring Arleta when police surrounded and arrested him. His name has not been released yet, nor the reason why officers initially wanted to pull him over.

Early Tuesday morning, California Highway Patrol officers made a routine traffic stop that ended with deadly results. Around 12:15 a.m., officers stopped a gold Mercedes near 7th Street at South Westmoreland when the driver exited the vehicle per instructions given. But as the man got out, he allegedly produced a hand gun, prompting officers to shoot him more than once "in self defense," ultimately killing him.

So that's why cops were all over the Valley this morning. The Daily News is reporting that around 200 cops raided 15 homes, arresting 16, in an early morning operation called "Wild Card" which is "the police department's effort to challenge a particularly active and violent clique of Vineland known as the Jokers."

View Larger Map

At 11:13 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department alerted of a small helicopter has crashed at the southbound 110 Freeway and Century Blvd. One person was dead on board the fiery crash. Fire officials are describing it as a "small, private type, possibly home made type" aircraft.

At 10 a.m. this morning, a big rig carrying a cargoload of tires collided with a sedan causing the southbound 5 Freeway to shut down for hours. Read the full story on LAist from earlier today here. More photos of the incident after this post's jump.

A big rig carrying a cargoload of tires collided with a sedan around 10 this morning on the 5 Freeway south of 4th Street, causing a two-hour-long shutdown of the major arteries through Downtown and a blaze that was apparently visible from over 20 miles away.

California Highway Patrol Officer Joshua Blackburn, charged with stealing $1 million worth of cocaine being held as evidence, has had his arraignment postponed at his lawyer's request until early next month, KTLA is reporting.

A dead body was found early this morning in Irwindale, KNBC is reporting. Backups in traffic that the investigation is causing will probably be substantial as rush hour quickly approaches, so plan accordingly.

All lanes of the southbound San Gabriel River (605) Freeway were shut down in Irwindale early Tuesday following the discovery of a body.

Continue reading "Dead Body On the 605 Closes Freeway"

The LA Times has definitely had its fair share of scandals in the near past with firings and hirings. Yet recently, content wise, the watchdog coverage of scandalicious politicians has been riveting. There is Mayor V and then there was the daily pounding of Rocky Delgadillo. The newest politician in the ring is 74-year-old 2nd district county supervisor Yvonne Burke who represents Watts, Culver City, Compton, South LA, Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, Inglewood to...

If you drive, you've probably been in one of these or at least seen it in ongoing traffic: the California Highway Patrol (CHP) puts their lights on and weaves across all lanes, slowing traffic down. "This is called a traffic break. Officers are first trained in our academy how to initiate these because they are so heavily used...especially in Southern California," Officer Joe Zizi told LAist. "Traffic Breaks are utilized to 1) warn motorists...

It's the weekend. It's a holiday weekend for heaven's sake. Have a beer and chill out. What's the rush to get somewhere? (AP) LOS ANGELES The California Highway Patrol arrested 1,114 people in California for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the first two days of the Labor Day weekend. That's a 23 percent increase from the same time last year, according to the CHP. Nine people have died so far...

There is a great wikipedia about Johnnie Cochran, Jr. that reminds us that he was a true Los Angeles Icon. He attended UCLA and LMU (where he got his law degree), was a criminal prosecutor twice in his career (for a total of 7 years), and made his name initially by effectively pursuing justice in police brutality cases. The nineties found him in the middle of just about every major Los Angeles trial. He represented Reginald Denny (who was beaten during the LA Riots); in his crowning achievement, he got Geronimo Pratt freed from prison after 27 years; he represented Michael Jackson in the first child molestation case; and, of course, his work in the OJ Simpson trial. His only son is a California Highway Patrol officer. He died of an inoperable brain tumor in his home in Los Feliz, yesterday.

An 80-foot washout has forced the off-again, on-again closure of the heavily used route since Jan. 10. And now state highway officials say a 17-hour-per-day shutdown will likely continue through the end of March.