P. V. Peninsula : Brakes Cited in Fatal Crash
Brakes were “severely out of adjustment” on an overloaded trash truck that went out of control while traveling downhill on Crenshaw Boulevard, colliding with two other cars and fatally injuring one motorist, the California Highway Patrol reported.
CHP Officer Rich Richards said the truck, owned by Western Waste Industries, had “greatly reduced braking power” when it crashed through a guardrail shortly before noon on July 20 and struck the two cars.
However, Richards said, investigators still have not concluded whether the truck’s reduced braking power caused the accident, or if it was just one of several factors. Investigators still have not interviewed the driver of the truck, 23-year-old Daniel Lee of Los Angeles, because he suffered a broken jaw in the crash, Richards said.
The CHP previously reported that the trash truck was 9,000 pounds overweight.
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