Long Beach police officers blocked traffic on Pacific Coast Highway at Lemon Avenue Wednesday morning as they investigated a fatal crash involving a pedestrian and a sports utility vehicle.
Police said that a man was attempting to cross PCH outside of a crosswalk around 5:51 a.m. when he was struck by a Honda Pilot that was traveling east. Officers gave him first aid but the man was pronounced dead at the scene by Long Beach Fire Department personnel, according to police.
The original call said that the crash happened near PCH and Lewis Avenue but the man’s body and the Pilot were stopped at the corner of PCH and Lemon, two blocks east of Lewis. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the pedestrian after notifying the man’s family.
Police said the driver was identified as a 24-year-old resident of Signal Hill who stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. Investigators don’t believe that speed, impaired driving or distracted driving were factors in the crash.
The crash happened on a busy stretch of PCH between Long Beach Poly High School and Long Beach City College’s Pacific Coast Campus.
Officers at the scene diverted traffic from northbound PCH onto Lemon where barricades blocked traffic early Wednesday morning where the deceased pedestrian was lying in the center lanes of PCH near a white Honda Pilot with significant damage to its front end.
By noon, an LBPD spokesperson said that the scene had been cleared and all lanes of traffic were reopened.
Editors note: This story has been updated with more information about the crash from the LBPD.