A mangled BMW plowed into the base of the Dodger Stadium sign near Gate A at about 3:02 a.m. Sunday, dislodging the letter U and uprooting the sign's support post entirely before the driver exchanged information with on-site stadium security and left without further incident. No one sustained injuries as a result of the crash, according to LAPD.
The driver appeared to lose control while exiting a nearby freeway and slammed into the sign base before hitting the gate, according to video obtained by Caught LA, as reported by the New York Post. The crash happened right where Vin Scully Avenue crosses Stadium Way, a stretch that has carried the broadcaster's name since the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in April 2016 to rename it from Elysian Park Avenue ahead of his 67th season with the team, per the Los Angeles Times. Gate A itself functions as one of the ballpark's primary perimeter entrances, where vehicles are routed toward stadium parking lots past security guard posts and landmark signage, according to Access Services.
A Notorious Stretch of Road
The crash site sits near the interchange where the SR-110 Freeway feeds onto Stadium Way, a corridor with a documented history of severe late-night solo-vehicle wrecks. CBS Los Angeles reported a February 2022 incident in which a driver lost control at 2 a.m. and struck a metal post and guardrail nearby, and the outlet also detailed a fatal rollover crash in July 2022 just south of Stadium Way that shut down freeway lanes for nearly three hours. A Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks traffic safety report, relayed in earlier Hoodline coverage, notes that Stadium Way sees elevated speeds from drivers using the park roadway as a commuter cut-through between freeways, a dynamic that has fueled other incidents nearby, including the March hit-and-run near Elysian Park.
Timing Gives Crews a Window to Repair
Stadium crews caught a break on scheduling: the crash happened while the Dodgers were away on a three-game road series against the Rockies in Colorado, and the team did not immediately return a request for comment on the situation as of Tuesday, per the Post. The damaged sign was taken down in the hours after the crash, and the site remained under construction as of Tuesday. The Dodgers still played at home later Sunday afternoon, losing to the Brewers, before the team is set to return to Los Angeles for a series against the Pirates beginning Friday.
A Landmark With Deep Roots
Dodger Stadium opened in Chavez Ravine in April 1962 and remains Major League Baseball's third-oldest active ballpark behind Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, as well as its largest by seating capacity at 56,000 seats, according to MLB.com. Built for $23 million, the hillside venue was designed with multi-tiered parking lots and perimeter entrance gates built around automobile access, a layout that has occasionally produced friction at its gates over the decades — including a 2012 parking lot fender bender that escalated into a physical altercation and four arrests, according to Global News.
The stadium has also been busy off the field this year. In March, the Dodgers secured a five-year, $125 million naming rights deal with Uniqlo for the playing surface, the first time the 1962 venue has carried corporate sponsorship on the field, according to Forbes. That partnership has coincided with expanded non-game day programming at the ballpark through its Dodgers 365 division, which keeps perimeter gates open year-round for tours, team store visits and private events. The stadium also rolled out optional Go-Ahead Entry facial recognition at select gates this year to speed fan entry, a system ABC7 has detailed and that Hoodline previously covered in the context of similar technology debuting at Disneyland.
