LOS ANGELES (AP) - An off-duty Los Angeles police detective killed when a cement truck smashed into a pickup truck in Beverly Hills was a 27-year department veteran, officials said Saturday.
The LAPD identified the detective in a news release as Ernest L. Allen Sr., who worked in the department’s Southwest Division and had been previously assigned to the 77th Street, Wilshire and Rampart areas.
Allen leaves behind a fiancee, his mother, two children, two grandchildren and a sister, according to the release.
The fatal accident occurred Friday afternoon on the same steep road where another truck accident killed a Los Angeles policeman two months ago.
Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference Friday that the detective had “off-duty employment” in the area and regularly traveled the curved road on the scenic two-lane street that winds among an area of mansions.
Beck said it appears that the cement truck lost control and crossed into the oncoming lane. The collision seriously injured the cement truck driver.
Beverly Hills police and the California Highway Patrol are investigating the crash.
The chief said he was “stunned into disbelief” when he learned the crash location was the same road where another LAPD officer was killed in March.
On March 7, a runaway truck hauling a trash container struck a patrol car, killing Officer Nicholas Lee, a 16-year veteran, and injuring another officer.
And a week ago, another cement truck overturned and struck several parked cars, injuring the driver.
Beverly Hills Police Chief David Snowden said heavy trucks have now been barred from the street for 30 days while the city looks at ways of preventing further accidents.
The officer’s death follows the death of Lee and two other on-duty LAPD officers in recent weeks.
Officer Roberto Sanchez died May 3 in Los Angeles after his patrol car was broadsided while chasing a speeding car. The driver was charged with murder.
Last month, 51-year-old motorcycle Officer Chris Cortijo was struck and killed by a driver alleged to have been under the influence of cocaine.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.