LAPD officer in ‘grave condition’ following off-duty motorcycle crash in Fullerton
A Los Angeles police officer was critically injured in a crash of his motorcycle while off duty in Fullerton on Monday night, authorities said.
Chief Charlie Beck announced that the officer was in “very, very grave condition” Tuesday at a Police Commission meeting. Beck did not name the officer because some of his relatives still might not know about the crash, he said.
The injured officer was assigned to the LAPD’s Wilshire Division and worked in the field for only about three months, Beck said.
The chief did not provide details of the crash, but Fullerton police said that a 24-year-old motorcyclist was critically injured just before 11 p.m. Monday when his bike collided with a 2005 Toyota Sequoia SUV at Commonwealth and Basque avenues.
The motorcyclist was westbound on Commonwealth when he collided with the SUV, which was in the left-turn lane, police said.
The SUV’s driver, a 19-year-old woman, stayed at the scene after the crash; drugs and alcohol do not appear to have been involved, Fullerton officials said.
Beck said he planned to travel to the Irvine hospital where the officer was being treated after the commission’s weekly meeting.
Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death within law enforcement. The LAPD had four crashes in 2014: Two officers were killed in separate car crashes in Beverly Hills, a third was killed by a suspected intoxicated driver in North Hollywood and a fourth died when a driver allegedly rammed the officer’s vehicle deliberately.
Times staff writer Kate Mather contributed to this report.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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