Funeral arrangements were pending today for a 28-year-old Alhambra Police Department officer killed in a high-speed, two-vehicle crash during a chase that also left a woman dead and two other people injured.
Alec Sanders had been an Alhambra officer for just eight months and was covering the shift of another officer when he was killed around 3 a.m. Thursday in the crash at the intersection of Edgewood Street and Valley Boulevard, APD Chief Garrett Kennedy said.
Sanders, who previously worked for about a year with the Long Beach Police Department, leaves behind a fiancée, two younger sisters and a brother. The LBPD said he was a graduate from the department’s academy and worked in Long Beach from May to December 2023.
Kennedy — speaking at a news conference outside Los Angeles General Medical Center, where the officer was taken after the crash — said Sanders would be “remembered for his dedication, his kindness and positive impact he had on everyone.”
Thursday’s crash occurred after officers responded to the area of Valley Boulevard and Fremont Avenue regarding a pursuit, according to police.
It was not immediately clear where the chase began or how long it lasted — or whether Sanders was part of the pursuit or responding to it.
Neither did police immediately announce the reason for the chase. It was also unclear if the officer had lights and sirens on when the collision occurred.
Both the Alhambra police SUV and the second vehicle in the fatal crash — a silver Hyundai SUV — sustained severe damage, with airbags deployed.
Video from the scene showed the officer appearing to be unconscious as he was taken in critical condition to the hospital, where he later died. A female passenger in the other vehicle was also killed, authorities said. The woman died at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later identified her as 42-year-old Gabriela Moreno.
Two other men in that vehicle were also injured. A second passenger suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital, while the driver sustained moderate injuries and was being questioned.
According to the California Highway Patrol, which was leading the crash investigation, video from a camera in the cruiser and possibly security video from nearby businesses will help determine the exact sequence of events.