A pre-dawn single-vehicle crash on the southbound San Gabriel (605) Freeway near the Alondra Boulevard offramp in Gardena left a young Long Beach man dead early Tuesday and briefly turned the morning commute into a mess as emergency crews worked the scene.
Crash details and response
California Highway Patrol officers reached the area at about 3:50 a.m. and found the victim on the southbound side of the freeway, CHP Officer Sergio Garcia told City News Service, according to MyNewsLA. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
By around 5:30 a.m., all southbound lanes had reopened, though the Alondra Boulevard off-ramp remained shut down until about 8 a.m. while investigators documented the crash and cleared the wreckage.
Victim identified
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office later identified the driver as 24-year-old Darrell Woodall of Long Beach, MyNewsLA reported. Officials have not released any additional information about what may have led up to the crash.
605 Freeway context
The San Gabriel (605) Freeway has seen several high-profile wrecks in recent months. Last March, prosecutors charged a former CHP officer and another motorist in a fiery Norwalk collision that killed four people. That case sparked renewed scrutiny of enforcement and safety along the busy regional corridor, per a County of Los Angeles news release.
Investigation ongoing
CHP detectives are handling the investigation, and the county medical examiner will determine and later disclose the official cause and manner of death. This story will be updated as public agencies release more information.
