A 42-year-old man was killed Friday evening when a Maserati sports car crashed into a tree in the city’s Circle Area neighborhood, splitting the car in two.
The victim, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was identified as a Buena Park man by the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD). The coroner’s office today identified him as Joseph Testone of Nampa, Idaho.
The crash occurred at around 7:00PM Friday on Los Coyotes Diagonal near Outer Traffic Circle, Long Beach police said. Testone was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 54-year-old man from Long Beach who was driving the Maserati Quattroporte was ejected onto the roadway, police said. He was hospitalized in critical condition.
UPDATE: 1 dead, 1 critical in Long Beach single-car crash https://t.co/wqwlOxNoMw pic.twitter.com/yCkD2Q6MfZ
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 17, 2018
The preliminary investigation revealed that the sports car was going at a high rate of speed while turning left from the southbound Outer Traffic Circle to eastbound Los Coyotes Diagonal, police said. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree, shearing the car in half. The vehicle came to rest in front of 4600 Los Coyotes Boulevard
Alcohol was possibly a factor in the crash, police said. The investigation is ongoing.
Both occupants of the Maserati were wearing seatbelts and the driver had a valid license, police said.
Anyone with information regarding the collision are asked to contact Detective S. Fox of the Long Beach Police Department Collision Investigation Detail at (562) 570-7355.
City News Service contributed to this report.