BEVERLY HILLS—After an LAPD officer was killed on May 9, the city has stepped up safety measures in the area.
On May 9, at around 1:53 p.m., an off-duty detective for the LAPD was killed when a cement truck collided with his private vehicle on Loma Vista Drive, according to a statement from the department. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel pronounced the officer dead at the scene, while the truck driver was taken to a local hospital in serious condition.
The County Coroner’s Office identified the officer as Detective Ernest L. Allen, Sr., a 27-year veteran of the force who, according to the LAPD, served in Wilshire, the Rampart area and the 77th Street Area. He is survived by his fiance, his sister, two children and two grandchildren.
Due to the latest tragedy, the city of Beverly Hills suspended all heavy vehicle delivery on Loma Vista Drive for 30 days or until proper safety measures are put into place, according to a statement from the city. Sergeant Max Subin of the Beverly Hills Police Department told Canyon News that in addition to the suspension of heavy haul traffic with signage to indicate such, the police are also increasing enforcement of traffic and commercial vehicles, as well as placing officers at the north and south end of Loma Vista Drive to further prevent commercial traffic from driving through the street.
“We are devastated by the accident and mourn with the family of the detective who died,” said Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse.
With growing community concern as a driving force, the city will have two appointed Traffic and Parking commissioners meet with two city Councilmembers on May 15 to discuss further actions to prevent any future accidents, as announced in a statement on May 13. The meeting will take place at 9:00 a.m. at the City Hall Municipal Gallery. The statement further added that the city will be looking at long term solutions to make Loma Vista Drive safer, including “revising building permit requirements to include strict safety measures and new heavy haul routes.”
The city commissioned a study on May 7 from the transportation engineering firm Fehr & Peers, who is expected to announce several safety recommendations regarding the Trousdale area by the end of this month.
Detective Allen is the second LAPD officer to be killed on Loma Vista Drive in two months. On March 7, Officer Nicholas Lee was killed in a similar incident when a runaway truck collided with his patrol car, which resulted in injuries to a female officer who was with Lee in the car at the time. On May 2, another cement truck on the same street collided with several parked cars until it came to a stop on Drury Lane. That driver sustained serious injuries, but survived the crash.
