UPDATE July 27, 1:01pm | A 66-year-old man who was struck by a Lexus SUV as he crossed the street between the Long Beach Courthouse and the parking structure often used by people visiting the courthouse has died, police said.
William Geisel, of Long Beach, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Monday evening, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.
Geisel was heading toward the courthouse from the parking structure as he crossed Magnolia Avenue just north of Ocean Boulevard on July 12 at roughly 1:23 p.m. He was about mid-block when a gold Lexus SUV heading south on Magnolia Avenue struck him, Massacani said.
An investigator told the Long Beach Post that although the vehicle was traveling at no more than 5 miles per hour, as it had just been at a complete stop to allow a group of pedestrians to cross in an unmarked crosswalk, Geisel’s injuries were fatal because the SUV struck his head.
At least one witness said the driver of the vehicle was on a cell phone at the time of the accident, the investigator said, and police have reason to believe that the 26-year-old female resident who said she was driving might not have been the one behind the wheel and that her passenger, a male, was driving at the time of the accident.
The case is being presented to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution pending the conclusion of the investigation, Massacani said.
The driver could face involuntary manslaughter charges.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about this incident is urged to call LBPD Accident Investigations Detective Richard Birdsall at 562-570-7355.
July 14, 1:59pm| A Long Beach man in his 60s was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon after an SUV hit him as he attempted to cross a downtown Long Beach street, police said.
As of Wednesday, the 66-year-old man, whose name was not released, remained in critical condition at an area hospital, police said.
The incident occurred at about 1:23 p.m. Tuesday, July 12. The man was attempting to cross Magnolia Avenue heading east mid-block between Ocean Boulevard and Broadway. As he crossed, a 26-year-old woman, also of Long Beach, driving a gold Lexus SUV heading south on Magnolia struck him, according to information provided by Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.
“Based on our preliminary investigation … the driver was yielding to pedestrian traffic in the crosswalk just prior to the collision,” Pratt said.
Police have not yet determined whether the man was in the crosswalk at the time he was hit, she added. It is unknown if the victim was in the crosswalk at the time he was struck.
The Long Beach Courthouse is located on the east side of Magnolia, which features a pedestrian crosswalk mid-block that is heavily used by people headed to the courthouse who park in the parking structure located on the west side of Magnolia.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone who might have witnessed the incident and has not yet spoken with police is asked to contact Accident Investigations Detective Richard Birdsall at 562-570-7355.