Long Beach Fire Department crews use heavy machinery to pull and SUV out of the Los Cerritos Channel on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. Photo courtesy the LBFD.
January 22, 2024
Long Beach Fire Department crews use heavy machinery to pull and SUV out of the Los Cerritos Channel on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. Photo courtesy the LBFD.
Two men were killed when a large SUV plunged from Studebaker Road into the Los Cerritos Channel near the AES power plant in Long Beach, authorities said.
The crash was reported about 6:20 p.m. Sunday on Studebaker Road south of Loynes Drive, Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jake Heflin said.
The vehicle was northbound just south of Loynes Drive when it went into about 10 feet of water, Heflin said.
Arriving firefighters summoned lifeguards and Urban Search and Rescue divers who pulled a man in his 30s from the water. He was rushed to a hospital while CPR was performed, the captain said. That man was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Divers continued to search in and around the SUV and found another man trapped inside, Heflin said. The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s heavy wrecker pulled the vehicle from the water, and that man was pronounced dead at the scene.
It appeared the SUV was the only vehicle involved in the crash, Heflin said.
Studebaker Road was closed in both directions from Second Street to Loynes Drive for the investigation, he said.
The cause of the crash is unknown.