2 Killed as Turning Vehicle Is Struck by Deputy’s Patrol Car

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy responding to a call about a burglary struck a vehicle that was making a U-turn in front of his patrol car Saturday, killing both occupants, authorities said.

A 60-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman died at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center shortly after the 1:20 p.m. accident, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David Peltz, a department spokesman.

The collision occurred as the deputy was heading north on South Main Street in Carson to back up another unit, Peltz said. The victims’ car, a 1983 Ford LTD sedan, was pulling out from the curb to make a U-turn when the patrol car hit it on the driver’s side, Peltz said.

The deputy, a four-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department whose name was not released, was listed in serious condition at Harbor-UCLA with head and hand cuts, Peltz said.