Traffic-Related Fatalities Increased In 2019 As Number Of Collisions Dropped In L.A., Police Chief Says

The number of traffic collisions in L.A. declined this year, but there were more fatalities tied to crashes, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Monday. Approximately 54,000 collisions occurred in 2019, a slight dip from the 54,800 reported the previous year, according to the latest LAPD data. Despite fewer collisions, traffic-related deaths increased slightly this year, with 236 fatalities reported, Moore said at a Monday morning news conference. That's two more than last year. But more alarming, the number of traffic-related deaths has risen 32% in the past five years, with pedestrians making up the majority of the victims. “When we look at those pedestrian fatalities … just over half them in the period of time, the pedestrians themselves are outside of a crosswalk or on the roadway, and so to speak are at fault." Moore said. “We know that the other half of the time, the motorist is, through distracted driving, or texting, or impaired driving.” Nearly half of the crashes this year -- more than 25,300 -- were categorized as hit-and-runs, according to LAPD.
KTLA 5

LAPD Focusing On 6 West Los Angeles Intersections That Have Seen Spike In Violent Car Crashes

Los Angeles police are stepped up their patrols at six locations in West L.A. Monday where they say there's been a spike in violent car crashes. Hoping to make the streets safer, the officers will be there to make sure drivers are aware that they're in what's described as a "danger zone." The intersections include: Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards, Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East, Santa Monica and Westwood boulevards, Lincoln and Washington Boulevards, Manchester Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard and Century and Sepulveda boulevards. In 2019, about 236 people have been killed in one of 54,000 traffic collisions involving cars in the Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The stepped up patrols are part of the city initiative Vision Zero, which is aiming to end all traffic deaths in the city within the next five years.
ABC 7

LAPD Announces Arrest In Thanksgiving Fatal Hit-Run

A woman who was allegedly one of three motorists who struck a 62-year-old pedestrian on Thanksgiving night in the West Adams district, killing him and dragging him about a dozen city blocks, surrendered to authorities, police announced Monday. At a downtown news conference to discuss traffic safety and accident statistics, police said the woman -- accompanied by her attorney -- surrendered about two weeks after the Nov. 28 hit-and-run death of Jihad Muhammad. Yolanda Thompson, 57, of Los Angeles, was booked Dec. 16 and released on bond that night, according to police and jail records. Police said they presented their investigation to the District Attorney's Office for consideration of criminal charges. Muhammad was standing in the street outside a crosswalk in the intersection of Adams Boulevard and West View Street about 8:40 p.m. Nov. 28 when he was struck by a car, possibly a white Audi A5, police said at the time. While he was on the ground, he was struck again by another vehicle, possibly a white Cadillac Seville.
NBC 4

Suspect Detained After Leading LAPD On Erratic Chase, Abandoning Car On 110 Fwy In South LA

A carjacking suspect was taken into custody after leading police on an erratic car chase in South Los Angeles Monday. The vehicle was originally spotted behind the Hollenbeck Community Police Station shortly before 1 p.m. The suspect took off in the reportedly stolen vehicle traveling on the southbound 5 Freeway and the westbound 10 Freeway before abandoning the vehicle on the southbound 110 Freeway. The suspect abandoned the car and took off running along freeway lanes before being apprehended near the 51st Street off-ramp. AIR7 HD showed traffic was being escorted off the 110 Freeway while officers searched the car for a weapon and pushed it out of freeway lanes.
ABC 7

Authorities Search For Bank Robbery Suspect In Tujunga

A man robbed a Chase bank branch in Tujunga Monday and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash. The holdup occurred just before noon in the 6500 block of Foothill Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. No injuries were reported and no weapon was seen, according to police, who did not release a full suspect description.
MyNewsLA.com

Thieves Use USPS Master Key To Clean Out Westwood Apartment Building's Entire Mailbox

Security video obtained exclusively by FOX 11 shows two criminals apparently using USPS master keys to gain access to a Westwood apartment building's mailboxes, and steal almost all of the tenants' mail. It happened around 7:40 a.m. at The Rochester Apartment Homes, where Sam Keeley has lived for the past five years. “I was pissed off, it's pretty upsetting to see people entering your home and taking your stuff so I was pretty angry,” Keeley said. Keeley awoke Monday morning to find out an expensive smartphone was missing from his mailbox. When other residents noticed their boxes were empty as well, the building manager was alerted. LAPD and the USPS Inspector General are both actively investigating the case. “They should go to jail, pure and simple,” Keeley said. If you recognize the thieves in the video, you're asked to contact LAPD's West L.A. station.
FOX 11

CHP Starts New Year's Crackdown Tuesday Night

An end-of-year crackdown targeting drunken and drug-impaired drivers in Riverside County will get underway Tuesday Monday evening. The California Highway Patrol will initiate its New Year's “maximum enforcement period” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when all available officers deploy to catch impaired motorists, speeders and other traffic violators. The enforcement campaign will run for 30 hours straight, ending late Wednesday night. Officers from the Riverside, Beaumont, Blythe, Indio and Temecula CHP stations will be on Inland Empire freeways, highways and unincorporated roads, looking to snare suspects. “Please make smart choices this holiday season,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “Driving while impaired can have tragic results. Whether impaired by alcohol or drugs, the result can lead to arrest, injury or death. Either way, the impact will be life-altering.”
MyNewsLA.com

California To See New Laws Go Into Effect In 2020

With the start of a new year comes a new batch of laws for the state of California. Here is a list of laws that will go into effect Jan 1, 2020: AB 317 makes it against the law for anyone to sell, or offer for sale, a DMV appointment. SB 957 allows certain used vehicles that were previously issued a green or white clean air vehicle decal to receive another decal, which allows access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes until Jan. 1, 2024. However, in order to qualify, the vehicle must have a new owner whose income is 80% or less than the statewide median income. The courts will no longer have the authority to revoke, restrict or order the DMV to delay the driving privilege of a person convicted of prostitution, vandalism or other non-driving offenses since SB 485 was approved. AB 1614 extends a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and use of alternatives to license plates and registration cards until Jan 1, 2021.
NBC 4

Public Safety News

Firefighters Free Man Trapped In Wreckage Of Multi-Vehicle Crash Involving Bus In Florence Area

Firefighters Monday extricated a man who was trapped in the wreckage of a multi-vehicle crash involving a bus in the Florence area of Los Angeles. The crash was reported around 1:45 p.m. in the 200 block of West Gage Avenue. It involved a bus and a dark-colored four-door sedan. The sedan appeared to have struck the back right side of the bus, video from SkyFOX showed. The unidentified man was extricated from the sedan and transported to an area hospital in critical condition, authorities said. A 70-year-old woman who was on the bus at the time of the collision was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, and all other patients on the bus declined to go to a hospital. Additional details were not immediately available.
FOX 11

Lead Paint, Banned For Decades, Still Makes Thousands Of L.A. County Kids Sick

During his pediatrics residency training at a hospital in Hollywood, Dr. David Bolour rarely gave a second thought to lead poisoning. Lead paint had been banned since before the 36-year-old doctor was born. Children being harmed by the once-ubiquitous metal was a thing of the past, he thought. But when he started as a pediatrician in 2015 at St. John's Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles, Bolour began testing every child who came in for lead poisoning. And he learned that about 1 out of 100 had elevated lead levels, he said. Public health officials consider even low levels of lead found in a child's blood to be lead poisoning, since studies have linked just small amounts of lead exposure to irreversible brain damage and stunted development in kids. “When I came here, I realized this is a real problem,” Bolour said. Although lead poisoning has become less common in recent years, roughly 2,000 children are diagnosed with unsafe levels of lead in their blood each year in Los Angeles County, according to state data.
Los Angeles Times

AAA Offering Free ‘Tow to Go' service In SoCal During New Year's Celebrations

AAA is offering people in Southern California a safe ride home on New Year's Eve, to discourage people from drinking and driving. The company is offering its “Tow-to-Go” program to promote safe driving and encourage motorists to plan ahead. The free service launches Tuesday, December 31 at 6 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, January 1. Anyone, whether they are a AAA customer or not, can get a free ride home. They'll even tow your car up to seven miles for free. This only applies to California's southern counties, including Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Tulare and Ventura. Local motorists should dial 800-400-4222 to request the service.
FOX 11

Local Government News

New Proposed Rule Would Ban Tour Buses From Hollywood Hills Streets Deemed ‘Unsafe'

The Los Angeles City Council is looking to restrict tour companies after complaints from homeowners in the Hollywood Hills. Earlier this month, the council's Transportation Committee recommended a set of rules for how tour buses and vans would operate in the area. The most notable recommendation would ban the tourist vehicles on roads deemed "unsafe" by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. The idea to impose such restrictions was introduced by Councilman David Ryu. In a motion back in 2017, the councilman stated that the buses "pose a clear hazard on certain streets not built to accommodate these types of vehicles." There are about 20 tour companies in Hollywood, industry officials say. Residents who live in the area, which is frequented by tourists, say the vans park in private driveways, cause accidents and could block narrow streets in the Hills, which is a big concern in the event of a fire.
ABC 7

The Decade Ahead: Here Are The Big-Ticket Public-Transit Projects On The Horizon For The San Fernando Valley

The next decade is expected to bring a host of badly needed public transportation improvements — from trains to light rails and buses — to the San Fernando Valley. Here are the major transit projects expected to be up and running by 2030: The Sepulveda Transit Corridor rail project (from Sherman Oaks to West Los Angeles) - Getting from the Valley to the Westside in 20 minutes instead of sitting in traffic on the 405? It sounds like a fairytale, but Metro says a route through the Sepulveda Pass might be operational in time for the 2028 Olympics. The agency completed a feasibility study and will soon go into environmental review, choosing from a host of options. At present, Metro is short billions to fund the rail line or monorail that could cost between $9.4 billion and $13.8 billion. A public-private partnership, they portend, could expedite and partially finance the process.
Los Angeles Daily News