Officer Killed in Off-Duty Motorcycle Crash Identified

A Los Angeles police officer who was killed in an off-duty traffic accident in Agua Dulce was identified Monday as Larry Piesco, a 21-year LAPD veteran.

Piesco, 49, of Canyon Country, was 18 days from retirement when he died Sunday, LAPD Capt. Bill Williams said.

Colleagues described Piesco as a fun-loving man who enjoyed golf, computers and taking his motorcycle on long rides. He was assigned to the West Traffic Division. Piesco’s death “hit the whole division hard,” Williams said.

California Highway Patrol investigators said Piesco’s Honda motorcycle slammed into the driver’s side of a van that was making a U-turn from the right shoulder of Soledad Canyon Road.

The driver of the van, identified by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office as Dean Wilder, 81, of Sylmar, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife remained hospitalized with moderate injuries, investigators said.