Two women are dead following a fatal traffic collision in Downtown Long Beach on Thursday night.
Police arrived to the scene in the area of Ocean Boulevard and Eighth Place at about 9:45PM to find an unconscious motorcyclist trapped beneath a Hyundai Sonata, and an unconscious pedestrian down in the lanes of traffic, said LBPD spokeswoman Megan Zabel.
Long Beach Fire Department personnel and paramedics responded to the scene and were able to free the motorcyclist from underneath the vehicle. The motorcyclist, a 33-year-old Long Beach woman pending notification of next of kin, sustained traumatic injuries to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, Zabel said.
The pedestrian was found in the number two lane of westbound Ocean Boulevard with traumatic head injuries. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. She is only being identified as a 25-year-old Long Beach woman, also pending notification of next of kin, Zabel said.
A preliminary investigation determined the pedestrian, who was crossing southbound Falcon Avenue at Ocean Boulevard inside a marked crosswalk, was hit by the motorcyclist who failed to yield, as she was traveling westbound on Ocean Boulevard in the number one lane.
After the motorcyclist struck the pedestrian, she lost control of her motorcycle, a 2003 Ducatti GRX, and fell to the ground, rolling southwest across both eastbound lanes. Her motorcycle continued to tumble west down Ocean Boulevard in the eastbound lanes. The motorcyclist was struck by a 2014 Hyundai Sonata which came to a rest on top of her, driven by a 37-year-old Long Beach resident.
Witnesses told police that the motorcyclist had swerved around a vehicle that had stopped for three pedestrians in the crosswalk at Falcon Avenue, shortly before the collision occurred. While the motorcyclist was found to have a valid Arizona license, she did not have a vaild motorcycle endorsement on her license, Zabel said.
The crash led to the closure of Ocean Boulevard between 11th Place and Esperanza in both directions from about 10:45PM Thursday to about 5:40AM Friday, according to the LBPD.
Police are urging anyone with additional information about this incident to come forward by calling Long Beach Police Collision Investigation Detective Steve Fox at 562-570-7355. Anonymous tips may also be submitted by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus the tip to CRIMES (274637) or by visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.
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