A man who was killed in a fiery solo-vehicle crash near the Long Beach Airport was identified today by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Keith Watts, 64, is the victim who died in the crash, county authorities confirmed.
The crash was reported at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the intersection of Lakewood Boulevard and Wardlow Road, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
The preliminary investigation revealed that a 2016 Cadillac SUV was going south on Lakewood Boulevard at a high rate of speed when it struck the center median, north of Wardlow Road, then traveled southeast across northbound lanes of Lakewood Boulevard before striking the traffic signal on the northeast corner of the intersection, police said.
The impact with the traffic signal caused the SUV to spin and rollover, crossing Wardlow Road. The vehicle hit a tree along the south side of Wardlow, east of Lakewood Boulevard.
At some point, the SUV burst into flames, police said. People in the area put out the flames with fire extinguishers and were trying to free Watts from the SUV when firefighters arrived.
Firefighters got Watts out of the vehicle, provided life-supporting measures and took him to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.
Driver dead after car rolls over in crash next to Long Beach Airport, fire officials say