Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries early Tuesday after a sedan struck the side of a big rig and became lodged beneath its trailer. The crash was reported shortly before 1 a.m. near San Pedro Street and El Segundo Boulevard.
According to KTLA, the white sedan crashed into the 18-wheeler from the side and ended up lodged beneath the trailer. Los Angeles County Fire Department crews worked the scene to free the two people trapped inside the vehicle, and both were eventually taken to a local hospital in what the outlet described as unknown condition, though they appeared to have suffered serious injuries. The condition of the big rig driver was unclear, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The crash occurred in the Willowbrook area.
The investigation remains open
A Corridor With a History of Severe Crashes This is not the first time El Segundo Boulevard in Willowbrook has been the site of a deadly or near-deadly collision. A prior fatal crash occurred at South Central Avenue and East El Segundo Boulevard in July 2024, resulting in at least one death, according to footage from Newsflare.
What broader safety data show
The available research does not identify a corridor-specific safety project or establish that speeding contributed to this crash. For broader Los Angeles context, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, around one in five fatal crashes in the city were directly attributed to speeding in 2024. The available data also do not provide a Willowbrook- or South Los Angeles-specific count of large-truck crashes. Statewide California data cited in the California Department of Transportation's Strategic Highway Safety Plan found that commercial vehicles were a factor in approximately 6% of fatal and serious-injury crashes from 2008 to 2017.
Why side underride crashes are dangerous
An underride crash occurs when a passenger vehicle slides beneath a larger commercial truck. Because a sedan is substantially lower than a trailer, the passenger compartment can be crushed during such a collision.
Federal regulations have long required rear underride guards on commercial trailers, but no federal safety standard requires side underride guards on semi-trailers in the United States as of 2026. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that side underride guards could prevent fatal crashes and serious injuries nationwide each year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The crash's outcome and contributing factors remain under investigation.
No further details on the identities of those involved or the specific cause of Tuesday's crash have been released. Investigators have not said what led the sedan to strike the big rig from the side.
