A 72-year-old man was killed when his car veered off a road in East Long Beach early Wednesday morning and ended up submerged in water beneath a bridge, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly before 4:25 a.m. on Studebaker Road near Loynes Drive, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
The driver was heading northbound on Studebaker Road when, for unknown reasons, the car veered off the roadway, through a fence on the southbound side and came to rest in the Los Cerritos Channel underneath a bridge just south of Loynes Drive, according to Long Beach police.
The man was ejected from the car during the crash and taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He was later identified as a 72-year-old man from Grover Beach, California, just southeast of Pismo Beach.
A woman in the front passenger seat was able to get out of the car and make it to shore, where she flagged down help, according to the fire department.
She was also taken to a hospital for treatment. An update on her status was not immediately available.
Detectives believe speed and distracted driving were factors in the crash, police said.
Wednesday’s deadly crash was the city’s 25th fatal crash of the year. At this time last year, the city had recorded 26 fatal crashes. It finished 2025 with the highest tally of deadly crashes in more than a decade.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with further information from police.