Off-duty LAPD officer killed in motorcycle crash in Torrance

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer died Saturday evening after crashing his motorcycle into a vehicle in Torrance, authorities said.

Erick Alcaraz, 24, was killed about 5 p.m. when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle making a left turn from West 234th Street onto South Western Avenue, said Lt. Brian O’Steen, of the Torrance Police Department. He died at the scene.

The driver of the other vehicle was not injured, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Alcaraz, a resident of Carson, had recently finished his one-year probation in the department’s Southwest Patrol Division and was preparing to start his new post Sunday in the West L.A. division, according to the statement.

Alcaraz, a former Marine and an 18-month veteran of the LAPD, leaves behind his mother and father.

His death is the sixth this year of on- or off-duty personnel on the Los Angeles police force. Five of the deaths were the result of traffic accidents.

In March, Officer Nicholas Lee died on winding Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills after a dump truck smashed into his patrol car. In May, an out-of-control truck slammed into a pickup, killing off-duty Det. Ernest Allen. The accident occurred a few yards from the spot where Lee was killed.

In April, veteran motorcycle Officer Chris Cortijo died after being hit by a woman who prosecutors allege was high on cocaine. In early May, Officer Roberto Sanchez was killed during a pursuit in Harbor City.

That same month, Officer George Nagata died from an apparent heart attack while working at the LAPD’s Central Division.

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