A Compton man was killed Tuesday evening near El Dorado Park when an allegedly intoxicated, speeding driver crashed into his car, sending it careening into a flood-control channel, police said in a statement Wednesday morning.
Long Beach resident Bryan Grayley, 66, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and gross voluntary manslaughter following the incident on East Willow Street near Coyote Creek, according to the Long Beach Police Department. He is being held on $100,000 bail police said.
Police say Gayley was speeding eastbound on Willow Street in an SUV sometime around 6:20 p.m. when he struck a 1995 GMC Yukon from behind. The driver of the Yukon, who was also speeding, lost control of the vehicle and left the roadway, landing upside down in a flood-control channel below the street, according to the LBPD.
When officers arrived at the channel, they found both of the men suffering from injuries, and Orange County Fire Department personnel were called to transport the two drivers to a local hospital.
The driver of the GMC Yukon succumbed to his injuries a short time later, police said. Authorities only identified the Yukon driver as a 53-year-old Compton man. His identity is being withheld pending notification to the next of kin by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.