LOS ANGELES - A 55-year-old man was identified as the pedestrian killed by a Metrolink train June 13.

Albert Mercado died from traumatic injuries in the crash. The manner of death was ruled a suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

The collision occurred around 8:52 p.m. at East Ramona Boulevard and Downing Avenue. The pedestrian, later identified as Mercado, was declared dead at the scene, according to Dispatch Supervisor Martin Rangel of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The pedestrian was described as a trespasser on the tracks, according to information published by Metrolink.

The train was westbound to Union Station.

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Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - The man who piloted a single-engine plane which crashed in the same area of another deadly plane collision at Brackett Field Airport was identified recently.

The fixed-wing plane is registered to the Curtis Hedlund Corporation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration plane registry.

The address, 16206 Arrow Hwy. in Irwindale, houses Hedlund’s business, Boss Air Mechanical, a full-service air conditioning and heating contractor.

The Beech V35 aircraft Hedlund piloted crashed just before Noon, October 1.

An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board was nearby investigating the first crash when Hedlund collided with a tree, according to Josh Cawthra of the NTSB.

According to a preliminary report issued by the NTSB, Hedlund was arriving to Brackett Field Airport from Blythe, California when the air traffic control tower cleared Hedlund to make a straight-in approach for runway 8-R.

Witnesses heard a noise, then observed the Beech V35 bank to the left. Its trajectory steepened before the left wing hit the ground. Shortly after impact, the plane ignited, according to the preliminary NTSB report.

The tree the plane struck was 50 feet tall, 900 feet from the approach end of the runway and 185 feet left of the runway centerline.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - A 33-year-old man was identified as the victim hit and killed as he crossed Arrow Highway August 30.

Christopher Michael Cortez was identified by Rudy Milano of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. A city of residence for Cortez was not available.

Cortez was reportedly jaywalking in the 800 block of East Arrow Highway west of Citrus Avenue when he was hit by a vehicle around 9:50 a.m., according to Sgt. Seth Chapman of the Azusa Police Department.

Azusa Police, Covina Police and Los Angeles County Firefighters arrived to the scene and despite efforts to treat Cortez, he died at the scene, according to an Azusa Police written statement.

Cortez died of multiple blunt traumatic injuries, Milano said.

The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with traffic investigators, Chapman said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

TRAFFIC - A Sig Alert is affecting multiple lanes neat the I-10 freeway and 605 interchange and may last until 9 p.m., the CHP said.

The Sig Alert is affecting eastbound lanes of the I-10 freeway east of the 605 and northbound lanes of the 605 freeway to the eastbound I-10, according to Officer Elizabeth Kravig of the California Highway Patrol.

A big rig overturned around 4:07 p.m. and initially blocked all lanes of the eastbound I-10 just east of the 605 freeway Sunday.

The CHP requested a large tow truck to upright the overturned big rig. It’s unclear if anyone was injured.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

MOUNTAINS - The “Mountain Fire” above Glendora has charred one acre in a steep ravine since it sparked after a solo vehicle collision early Saturday.

The fire is holding at one acre in heavy brush and steep terrain, according to Chief Robert Garcia of the U.S. Forest Service, which is the agency leading the firefight.

The collision occurred just before midnight along Glendora Mountain Road just south of mile marker 8.02. A vehicle went over the side of the road and came to rest 150 yards in a deep ravine.

Thick smoke from the fire prevented first responders from finding the vehicle initially, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department radio traffic.

The patients, only described as a man and woman, were able to climb out of the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The patients, both of whom suffered severe burns on their body, were hoisted from the mountainside by helicopter.

One patient was taken to Brackett Field in La Verne via helicopter, which was low on fuel, to a second waiting helicopter, which transported the victim to County/USC Medical Center.

The second patient was flown directly to County/USC as well.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Officials named the construction worker killed after being crushed under the forklift he was ejected from in an accident July 20.
 
Jordan Hoyt, 20, was the worker hilled near a Pomona hillside at Kellogg Drive and the eastbound 10 freeway last Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
 
The crash occurred around 9:35 p.m.
 
Hoyt and fellow construction workers were part of a project to add carpool lanes to the I-10 freeway between the 605 and 57 freeways, according to Officer Rodrigo Jimenez of the California Highway Patrol.
 
Hoyt was behind the wheel of a telescopic forklift, travelling east on a dirt road when for unknown reasons, the forklift fell down the hillside. Hoyt was ejected and the forklift fell on him, Jimenez said.
 
A second man was reportedly injured.
 
Kellogg Drive was shut down until about 4:20 p.m.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

GUSTINE, California - Two young girls and a woman, all from Covina, died after their Dodge Caravan was rear-ended on the 5 freeway Tuesday morning.
 
The crash occurred on the 5 freeway south of Taglio Road in Gustine, south of Modesto, around 1:55 a.m. July 17. The girls, both 6 and 10 years old, as well as a 57-year-old woman, died at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol, Los Banos Office.
 
The woman was identified as Regina Dorado.
 
The two girls have yet to be identified, as legal next of kin have not been notified, according to Deputy Daryl Allen, public information officer for the Merced County Sheriff’s Department, coroner division.
 
Another 6-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman also in the Dodge Caravan were injured. The girl was airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno. The woman was taken by ground ambulance to Memorial Medical Center.
 
The Dodge Caravan was in the No. 2 lane of the northbound 5 freeway, followed by a 2011 Freightliner.
 
Dorado began slowing for a traffic collision, but the driver of the Freightliner, an Ontario man, failed to slow and rear-ended the Caravan, sending it into the center divider.
 
The girls were students of Cypress Elementary School in Covina.
 
Cypress Elementary Principal Shannon Wyatt sent a phone message to Cypress parents about the deaths.
 
“Sadly, two of our students and their grandmother passed away in a fatal car accident. Additionally, a third student is reported to be in critical condition,” Wyatt said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.”
 
Alcohol, drugs and weather are not believed to be factors in the crash, the CHP said.
 
The driver of the Freightliner was not arrested.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

AZUSA - A man riding a motorcycle sustained unknown injuries after colliding with a truck on San Gabriel Canyon Road near East Fork Road Saturday morning.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

REGION - The California Highway Patrol is looking for the driver who crashed and fled a car found abandoned on Highway 39 above Azusa.

A passerby reported that an import-style vehicle was found unoccupied and crashed into the side of the mountain near mile marker 20.1 around 2:23 a.m., according to CHP traffic logs.

The registered owner of the vehicle called the CHP around 8:45 a.m. to report his vehicle missing from his cousin’s house in the 5200 block of North Calera Avenue in Covina.

The owner said he decided to take an Uber ride home from his cousin’s house around 9 p.m. Saturday after being too drunk to drive, the CHP reported.

It is unclear who the suspect may be, or if the suspect has been arrested.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

SANTA FE SPRINGS - CHP investigators are still searching for the man accused of hitting and killing a motorcyclist on the 60 freeway near Industry March 14.
 
The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m. on the northbound 605 freeway just south of the 60 freeway. The driver of a newer model, burgundy or reddish Mitsubishi SUV, possibly an Endeavor, with dark colored tail lights, fledthe scene, according to the California Highway Patrol Santa Fe Springs office said in a written statement.
 
The driver is described as a white man, with white or grey hair and a white or grey beard.

The SUV may have minor damage to the right-rear bumper.
 
Anyone with information is asked to call the Santa Fe Springs Area Office at (562) 868-0503.