A driver was killed early Thursday when a car crashed and burst into flames on Forest Lawn Drive near Griffith Park, igniting a tree and damaging a traffic light just south of the 134 Freeway. The single-vehicle crash was reported shortly before 2:30 a.m. in the 5900 block of Forest Lawn Drive, near Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to ABC7 Los Angeles, firefighters responded to find the vehicle engulfed in flames and worked to extinguish the fire. LAPD officers requested a traffic unit and a helicopter to search the area for anyone who may have been ejected from the car, though no other victims were found at the scene, per the station's report. Dispatch records show the first crash report came in at 2:29 a.m., with the vehicle fully engulfed by 2:38 a.m., according to Key News Network. The driver's identity had not been released at the time of reporting, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
A Road Under LAPD's Watch, and Under Scrutiny
Forest Lawn Drive falls under LAPD Northeast Division's jurisdiction for traffic response, with the corridor bordering Hollywood Hills West and North Hollywood along the San Fernando Valley line, Key News Network reports. That same division's traffic units handled the search-and-investigation effort following Thursday's crash. The road has drawn repeated attention from city safety officials in recent years, long before this latest fatality.
LADOT records show that between 2013 and 2023, Forest Lawn Drive logged 83 traffic crashes resulting in three deaths or severe injuries, according to Streetsblog Los Angeles. That crash history prompted Council District 4 to initiate a dedicated safety study. The city's formal safety initiative for the corridor traces back to a December 2022 collision in front of Forest Lawn Memorial Park that killed one driver and hospitalized another, a crash that pushed LADOT and Councilmember Nithya Raman to explore reducing travel lanes, Streetsblog notes.
Speed Studies and a Stalled Safety Overhaul
Transportation department speed studies found that 74% of drivers on Forest Lawn Drive traveled at or above 42 mph, with 85th-percentile speeds reaching 49 mph on a road posted for 40 to 45 mph, according to the Office of Councilmember Nithya Raman. Studies cited by that office show a 50% fatality risk for pedestrians or cyclists struck at 42 mph. In response, LADOT planned the Forest Lawn Drive Safety & Mobility Project, which was designed to reduce car travel lanes and add protected bike lanes.
That project stalled in May 2026, when Mayor Karen Bass requested city departments pause and revise the redesign following pushback from Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai cemeteries, which argued lane reductions would delay funeral processions, according to Streets For All. The same organization reports that the stretch of Forest Lawn Drive has not been resurfaced since 1994 and carries a Pavement Condition Index score of 31 out of 100, a failing grade under city standards.
Other Recent Actions Along the Corridor
The road has also seen non-traffic interventions in recent years. In December 2023, city officials cleared a 50-RV encampment on Forest Lawn Drive through an Inside Safe operation, and subsequently imposed strict no-parking rules requested by the Los Angeles Fire Department due to high wildfire risk along the park border, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Fire Department had designated the corridor a high fire severity zone following a 30-acre brush fire there in 2019.
Part of a Wider Pattern Near Griffith Park
Thursday's crash adds to a string of fatal early-morning wrecks near the park's edges. On June 19, a pre-dawn collision on southbound Interstate 5 near Griffith Park killed a 77-year-old Atwater Village resident and shut down freeway lanes for hours, as Hoodline previously reported. That crash occurred at roughly 2:56 a.m. near the Los Feliz exit, just a few hours later in the clock cycle than Thursday's Forest Lawn Drive incident.
The city has moved forward with safety upgrades elsewhere in the park. In March 2026, Los Angeles began quick-build construction on Crystal Springs Drive inside Griffith Park, reducing travel lanes and adding physical barriers following the 2022 fatal crash of a 77-year-old cyclist. That project used speed humps, rubberized curbs and bollards to calm traffic, offering a contrast to the paused plans for Forest Lawn Drive. Whether Thursday's fatal crash renews pressure on city officials to revive the stalled Forest Lawn Drive redesign remains an open question, as does the identity of the driver and whether speed or impairment played a role in the crash.
