Holiday season off to grim start with numerous traffic fatalities on Thanksgiving day, LA official says
LOS ANGELES - According to Los Angeles Police Department South Traffic Detective Ryan Moreno, this Thanksgiving marked the worst in his 28-year career.
Detective Moreno was called from home three times on the Thanksgiving holiday to investigate fatal accidents. Moreno stated, "The first incident occurred yesterday morning in LA's Harbor Gateway area." He explained that it involved a driver who lost control and collided with a light pole at a high speed.
"It was a truly unfortunate case. The victim was a young mother with a 5-year-old son." Moreno also mentioned, "Alcohol was a factor in that particular incident. It was tough to know that this little boy's mother would not be coming home."
Later that evening, at around 11:30 p.m., another tragic incident occurred.
A 26-year-old mother was walking southbound on a sidewalk with her child when a car pulled out from a nearby liquor store, resulting in a collision. The impact caused the vehicle to veer onto the sidewalk, striking the mother and child. Sadly, the mother succumbed to her injuries, while the 8-year-old child is currently fighting for her life at a nearby hospital.
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On the night of Thanksgiving, Moreno was also called out to a fatal crash in the vicinity of 73rd Street and Western Avenue. In the past ten days, there have been a total of 9 fatalities in South Los Angeles. Approximately half of these cases involved pedestrians, with DUI being a factor in 4 of them, whether it was alcohol or drugs.
According to Detective Moreno, there were 107 fatalities in crashes in South LA last year. This year, there have already been 101 fatalities, and we haven't even reached the full winter holiday party period between Thanksgiving and New Year's.
Moreno emphasizes the importance of not speeding or drinking and driving. In summary, he states, "There will be arrests made in every case. There are going to be arrest charges on every case."