A man was killed Saturday evening in a three car collision near Long Beach Boulevard and East San Antonio Drive, outside of Trader Joe’s, the others involved were left with minor injuries.
The crash occurred around 7 p.m. on Saturday night when a dark gray Nissan Altima was driving at a high speed with its lights off and rear ended a white Jeep carrying a couple as they were turning into the Trader Joe’s parking lot.
The impact pushed the Jeep over a curb and into the lot, where it clipped a black Chevrolet Suburban driven by Joselin Vargas, who was leaving the store with her son.
Vargas and her child were not seriously injured.
Witnesses said the male driver of the Altima appeared unconscious and was bleeding from his head when bystanders reached him.
About three people pulled him from his car to check if he was alive, but he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
His name has not been released to the public and authorities have not confirmed any additional details about him.
By the time The Viking News arrived, the man had been placed on the ground and covered with a sheet.
Vanessa Herrera, the passenger of the Jeep that was rear ended, said she felt the impact of the crash before she had time to react.
Couple Daniel Herrera and Vanessa Herrera explain to police the scene of a fatal car crash they were part of, outside the Trader Joe’s on Long Beach Boulevard around 7 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses told Viking News that a speeding Nissan Altima with no headlights on rear ended a Jeep, which Daniel and Vanessa were in, and that sent their car into a third vehicle. The driver of the Altima died at the scene. (Isaiah Ryan)
“I didn’t see anything. I just heard and felt everything. … My whole seat is warped. My leg up to my jaw hurts. We’re ok, but it’s messed up, I just got the car fixed and paid off,” Herrera said.
Daniel Herrera, the driver of the Jeep, said that after the accident, his first instinct was to check on everyone involved.
“I made sure my lady was ok, then I ran over to him,” Daniel said. “He was just thrown out of his seat. They tried to resuscitate him, but he was gone, man.”
Daniel said he and Vanessa were grateful to walk away with minor injuries, though the crash left their vehicle heavily damaged.
“It’s a sad situation. Such a tragic situation,” Daniel said. “Regardless of people’s faults or bad habits, I don’t wish this upon anybody.”
The couple said they had been ending their date night and stopped for 7-Eleven pizza before heading to Trader Joe’s to use the restroom.
The third driver, Vargas, said the crash happened “in an instant.”
“It’s scary, and it all happened so fast,” Vargas said. “We need to be careful.”
“The identity of the driver of the 2005 Nissan Altima is being withheld, pending notification of the next of kin by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner,” the LBPD press release states.
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