Police probe officer-involved collision

Huntington Beach police are investigating an accident involving an officer who collided with another vehicle while driving a city-owned car in Alhambra.

Officer Lisa Gallatin and Lynn Gilbert were turning left at the same time at two left-turn lanes when they bumped into each other, Lt. Russell Reinhart said.

Gilbert filed a claim against the city April 20 asking for about $900 in damages.

Gallatin is a background investigator who travels to many areas of Southern California for her work and uses a city vehicle, Reinhart said. He could not disclose the nature of the investigation that took Gallatin to Alhambra.

“We’re looking into it to determine whose fault it is,” he said. “It was very minor. There’s hardly any damage to any vehicle.”

Gilbert wrote in her claim that Gallatin came up from behind and tried to pass her on a very busy street, she said. Gilbert added that the street she was traveling on was coned off and beginning to widen at the spot where the accident occurred.

“If she had remained at the same speed behind me, she would not have hit me,” Gilbert wrote. “Her negligence in trying to pass me in a construction zone clearly shows her fault. She went from behind me, to beside me, in a couple of seconds. She did not have a clear sense of what lane she wanted.”

Gilbert, who resides in Los Angeles, is directly asking the city for the cost because she only has liability coverage on her 1992 Toyota Camry, said her son, Darren Gilbert. The accident caused dents and scratches to both doors on the driver’s side, Darren Gilbert said.