The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was mourning the loss of a 41-year-old motorcycle deputy who died in a crash while attempting to make a traffic stop at a Lakewood intersection Thursday morning.

Officer Thomas Albanese, a seven-year veteran with the department, was attempting to pull over a black sedan around 9 a.m. when he entered into the intersection of Paramount and Del Amo boulevards and collided with a silver Mercedes-Benz, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a news conference.

Calling the incident an “unfortunate accident,” Villanueva said the Mercedes driver appeared to have been turning in the intersection on a green light, while Albanese was heading northbound on Paramount.

LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Thomas Albanese died instantly after a traffic collision in Lakewood, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

Villanueva said the deputy was thrown from his motorcycle and was killed instantly. The driver of the Mercedes was treated at the scene.

Authorities were still searching for the driver that Albanese had attempted to stop.

Rick Hoover, who owns a nearby barbershop, said he saw the the car the deputy was pursuing: a black Charger. The Charger, he said, made it through the intersection, but the deputy was struck by the Mercedes, making what appeared to be a legal left turn.

Villanueva said Albanese was a decorated United States Marine Corps veteran who had served four tours of duty in Iraq. He joined the department in 2013 and served as a field training officer at the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station before being assigned to the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station.

Albanese had been working overtime at the Lakewood Station at the time of the accident. He is survived by his wife and two sons, ages seven and 11.

“It’s just a tough day for everybody,” Villanueva said.

An LA County Sheriff’s deputy, who died after a collision at the intersection of Del Amo and Paramount boulevards in Lakewood, is draped in an American flag, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

Hoover said this was one of the worst crashes he had seen in his 50 years in business near the intersection.

“I heard a loud ‘pow’ and then I saw a big cloud of smoke,” said Suki Song, a barber who works nearby.

Wreckage from the crash was strewn across the roadway Thursday morning.

“This is a very bad intersection,” said Steve Miyagi, a Lakewood resident who heard the crash. “It’s known for its accidents and fatalities.”

Authorities at the scene of a crash that killed an LA County sheriff’s deputy. Photo by Brandon Richardson.
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks during a press conference following the death of deputy Thomas Albanese, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

Brandon Richardson is a reporter and photojournalist for the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal.