ANTELOPE VALLEY : L. A. Police Officer Dies of Injuries

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer died of injuries he suffered when his police motorcycle collided with a car in Lancaster, police said Thursday.

Officer David C. Schmid, 34, died at Palmdale General Hospital about 10 p.m. Wednesday, nine hours after the crash, Police Sgt. Mel Cunningham said.

Schmid, an eight-year veteran of the force, worked the past two years in the Valley Traffic Division, Cunningham said.

The crash occurred about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday as the officer drove to work from his home in Littlerock.

His motorcycle, which was traveling west on Pearblossom Highway, collided with a vehicle that was turning from the eastbound lanes onto northbound 40th Street East, Cunningham said.

The car’s driver, a woman whose name was not released, was treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said.

According to colleagues, Schmid had purchased a home in Littlerock about a year ago and his wife is seven months pregnant with their first child.

“The thing that bothers me is he’s not going to see his child,” said a former partner, Officer Tom Jennings, who was visiting Schmid at the hospital when the officer died.