Results tagged “crash”

The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting a large car crash, involving approximately 10 cars, on the southbound 101 freeway. The crash, which occurred around 1:40 a.m., has injured at least 10 patients, two who are reported to be in critical condition. A Sigalert was issued by 2:09 a.m by the California Highway Patrol.

Traffic is still jammed on the 5 Freeway in Burbank after a big crash shortly before 6 a.m. this morning. A truck jackknifed, going through or over the center divider while hitting several cars in the process. The truck's cab caught fire, but injuries so far are reported to be minor to moderate, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Last week Thursday, Devin Petelski was driving in Venice when her car and an LAPD vehicle collided. She and the two officers were sent to the hospital where she died two days later. The officer driving the car suffered a fractured hand and lacerations to his elbow while the other officer was treated for abrasions and general pain.

It was January 26th, 2005 when Juan Alvarez parked his gasoline-drenched Jeep Cherokee on train tracks in Glendale. He said it was an attempt to commit suicide before he changed his mind the last minute. He jumped out of the way before "a fast-moving Metrolink train struck the SUV, derailed and struck a parked Union Pacific locomotive before colliding with another Metrolink train traveling in the other direction," as the Associated Press describes. 11 people died and 180 were injured. Alverez was convicted of murder last year.

The truck driver who killed two people and injured twelve when his vehicle careened into a La Canada Flintridge intersection was spared the possibility of murder charges today. A Pasadena Superior Court judge said there was insufficient evidence that Marcos Barbosa Costa, 44, had intent to kill people, according to the Daily News. However, he will still face vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving charges.

Text messaging appears to be one major caper in the Chatsworth Metrolink train crash last year, which left 25 dead and 135 injured. Investigators found that Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez sent a text message 22 seconds before his train slammed head-on into a freight train.

                     

Brakes are required at the Red Bull Soapbox Races but a sense of self-preservation is not. The event has been held in more than 40 countries over the past decade, with vehicle designers thinking way outside of their so-called-box. It stopped in downtown Los Angeles for the first time on Saturday.

For the second time in recent months, a car has crashed through a building at 7th and Flower, reports Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. This morning's two-vehicle crash sent a white Camry halfway into the restaurant Wokano at 818 W. 7th Street after it appears one of the vehicles ran a red light. The crash, which sent both drivers to the hospital, occurred around 5:45 a.m., but was cleaned up with streets open by 7:30 a.m. In late May, a car crashed through a Bank of America branch in the same building. (Photo by Eric Richardson/blogdowntown)

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.

     

Yesterday, friends, family, co-workers, and community members gathered in Stoney Point Park in Chatsworth to hold a memorial service and dedication of a plaque to honor the lives lost one year ago in the Metrolink-Union Pacific train crash. In addition to the Chatsworth event on Saturday a memorial was held in Simi Valley at the Metrolink Memorial Plaza, which was where Metrolink 111 would have next stopped had the train not collided with a freight train. There at the station, "individual plaques bearing the name of each person who died in the crash, and messages suggested by their families," have been installed at the east platform, according to the Daily Breeze.

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 been nearly a year since that fateful Friday afternoon when a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train smashed into each other, leaving 25 dead and 135 injured. It happened around a section of single track, blindly curving around Stoney Point in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles.

A crash between two vehicles left an apparent transient dead this morning during rush hour in North Hollywood. Around 7:53 a.m., the vehicles traveling eastbound on the 134 freeway collided, leaving the freeway over the side where an encampment was set up behind the McDonalds at Riverside Drive and Lankershim Boulevard. "He just happened to be there at the wrong place at the wrong time," explained California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Luevano over the phone.

A car crash in South LA has left one person in critical condition and three others in minor condition, including two Los Angeles Police Department officers. Around 9:45 p.m. at Western and 39th Street in the King Estates neighborhood (just south of Jefferson Park), at least three cars were involved in the accident, according to the L.A. Fire Department. The conditions of the crash are not immediately known but KTLA-TV reports that the police cruiser and a SUV crashed head on. Firefighters had to free the SUV driver with jaws of life. UPDATE: ABC7-TV reports that four vehicles were involved. Two vehicles crashed into a fire hydrant and another spun out.

A driver, reported to be an elderly woman in an SUV by KNX1070, was killed when her vehicle was struck by a Metrolink train this afternoon in Pacoima. The train was heading towards Antelope Valley Los Angeles when the collision occurred at between Van Nuys Blvd. and Pierce St. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and a bus bridge is currently continuing service for the 22 passengers on board.

A small plane carrying three people crashed this afternoon near the Hawthorne Airport off the 105 freeway, according to KNX1070. "Hawthorne Municipal Airport, also known as Jack Northrop Field, is an FAA-designated general aviation reliever airport owned by the City of Hawthorne," according to its webpage. It's located at 12101 S. Crenshaw Boulevard.

A fiery crash yesterday evening has caused the connector road between the eastbound Artesia (91) Freeway to the northbound Long Beach (710) Freeway as CalTrans continues to investigate the deadly incident.

Near the summit of the Cajon Pass, which reaches 4,100 feet, June gloom fog may be the culprit in a chain reaction crash that has involved up to 50 cars, reports the Associated Press. "There was like three, four big-rigs, a couple cars accordioned in between them. In all between the three accidents, 50 cars-plus," said one driver who zig zagged through the mess that began around 7:30 a.m.

40-year-old Donald Barrett was walking across the street when he was fatally struck and dragged by a Metro bus around 850 feet down two streets in Venice yesterday afternoon. "There does not appear to be any evidence of a crime and there are no charges pending at this time," explained the LAPD in a news release today. "The driver of the bus was transported to a local hospital for treatment of an undisclosed medical condition."

Advocacy via Google Maps is a lovely thing. Take your neighborhood, your city, etc., document what could be improved, where incidents are happening and let the data help drive more livable streets. Today, we become savvy to a newer website called Bikewise, which documents bicycle hazards (leaving room for suggestible improvements), crashes and thefts in the Los Angeles area. Caltech student Zane A. Selvans, who runs the site, began with Pasadena is hoping others will add information about their neighborhoods, too. Related: Super awesome community organizer Andrea Ambrose continues to update her LA Neighborhood Cleanup Project Google Map on neighborhood improvements in the Silver Lake/Echo Park area.

Okay, what was in the air yesterday? At approximately 4:36 p.m., a 60-year-old male driver ran into a bus stop, injuring three others and himself, according to Devin Gales at the Los Angeles Fire Department. Everyone was transported to area hospitals in minor condition except one 25-year-old female who was left in critical condition. The bus stop was located on the 14300 block of Vanowen near Van Nuys Blvd. Earlier. Earlier in the day a few miles away, a bicyclist was killed by a LADWP contractor. In Venice around the same time, a man was dragged under a bus leaving him dead.

A Los Angeles Department of Water & Power truck struck and killed a cyclist this afternoon in the Lake Balboa area. A woman in her 30s was riding her bicycle when the truck, attempting to make a right turn, ran into her shortly after 12 p.m., said Devin Gales, a spokesman with the LA Fire Department. Paramedics responded finding her trapped under the truck, located at 7447 N. Louise Avenue. The driver was a private contractor doing work on behalf of LADWP, a department spokesperson said. Further details are pending an investigation. UPDATE: The LAPD estimates her age to be between 50 and 60 years old.

Jennifer Perla and seven others, including her sister, were on the way to their Taft High School prom night at the California Science Center when the driver lost control, overturning the vehicle on the 110 Freeway. 16-year-old Perla, the only one not wearing a seatbelt, died when she apparently was thrown from the 2003 Chevrolet SUV. She was wearing a purple dress. "She looked so beautiful in that dress. She was stunning," her older brother told the LA Times. "You just can't imagine. It's horrible. Plain horrible... She was very popular in high school. Very friendly, very loving, beautiful."

A collision between a Metro Blue Line train and a vehicle, possibly a pick up truck, left at least one person injured and transported to the hospital. At 1:25 p.m., the two collided near Washington and Main just south of downtown, but no train passengers were hurt. Two other people were in the vehicle, but their condition is unknown and the circumstances of the crash are under investigation. Last week, two pedestrians were killed when crossing the Blue Line tracks. If LAist is keeping tabs correctly, this is the 827th incident on the Blue Line since it opened in 1990. In the past, some LAist commenters believe this is purely an issue of survival of the fittest and others think Metro's safety standards are not up to par.

After the death of a man crossing the Metro Blue Line tracks yesterday afternoon, a 49-year-old woman was left in critical condition when she was hit and trapped beneath the train shortly before 8 p.m. near Flower and Venice in downtown. Yesterday's incidents increase the train line's statistics to 93 deaths and 826 accidents, according to transit advocate Damien Goodmon who today is calling for Congressional investigation and hearing. "It is the deadliest light rail train in the nation," a news release from his Citizens' Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line group said. On Wednesday, a woman was killed by a Metro bus downtown when she was hit near City Hall

A training mission north of Edwards Air Force base has left one plane downed and the two crew members in unknown condition. The T-38 Talon went down nine miles north of the base around 1:15 p.m. In March, an F-22a fighter jet crashed killing the test pilot and in December, an F/A-18 crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, killing four members of a family.

Work to restore truck arresters to their original function after a deadly crash last month began today, announced Caltrans. On April 1st, a truck barreled down Angeles Crest Highway (SR-2) through a red light in La Canada Flintridge, crashing into several cars, injuring 12 and leaving a father and daughter dead. "This project will restore the truck arresters to their original function and enhance safety on SR-2," the state agency said in a news release. "The arresters, located in the median, are designed to enable vehicles experiencing braking problems on the highway’s 7 percent grade to slow and stop." Prior to the April crash, the community had been advocating for safety improvements after a similar incident last year that destroyed seven cars and injured one person. The project should be completed in June; crews will work weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. One lane in each direction of the four-lane highway will be closed during construction.

The LAPD, summoned to the chambers by City Council this week, is standing by their report about that the bicyclist ran into a hummer, not the opposite in an incident a few weeks ago. However, according to StreetsblogLA, things are not adding up: "If you believe the LAPD, [the cyclist] 'ran into the side of the hummer' then you have to believe that [the cyclist], who was wearing light colored clothing and had a rear light on his bike, backed into the side of the hummer with such force as to throw him forward.  His bike is destroyed from the rear, his injuries were consistent with being thrown forward; so the laws of physics, laws which the LAPD has no jurisdiction, don't back him sideswiping the H3." If that's true, this could get really interesting fast.

The Los Angeles Fire Department had two larger events during the 11 a.m. hour this morning. The first was near Silver Lake on Fletcher near Riverside Dr. where about one half acre of grass and brush burned near structures, but firefighters were able to knock it down in just less than 20 minutes at 11:43 a.m. No one was injured and no buildings were damaged. On Westwood Blvd. near the 10 Freeway, a car crash left one person dead, four injured and two or three dogs with unknown injuries. Three people, including the deceased, were trapped in their vehicle before units arrived on scene to rescue them.

A 22-year-old Riverside man was allegedly drunk when he ran a red light hitting a sports car and killing three people, including the Angels' rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart. Andrew Thomas Gallo of Riverside will be charged with felony driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, according to the LA Times. Gallo fled from the red minivan he was driving on foot and was found by police a mile away.