A boy was struck and killed while running across lanes of traffic on Shoreline Drive in Long Beach late Friday night, in a crash that left the driver at the scene cooperating with investigators. Long Beach Police Department officers were dispatched to the area of Shoreline Drive and Beach Access Road at 10:10 p.m. on October 16, where they found the boy fatally injured after being struck by a 2026 Honda Accord.
According to MyNewsLA, the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police, who do not believe speed, distracted driving, or impaired driving contributed to the collision. Police have withheld the boy's identity because of his age and pending notification of next of kin. The City of Long Beach confirmed in an October 17 blotter update that Collision Investigation detectives are now handling the case.
A Corridor With a Deadly History
The crash site sits along a stretch of Shoreline Drive that has seen fatal pedestrian incidents before. In November 2024, a Long Beach Transit bus struck and killed a woman walking outside a crosswalk near Shoreline Drive and 7th Street, a case Hoodline covered in its report titled Woman Fatally Struck by Bus. As in Friday's crash, speed and impairment were ruled out as factors in that earlier death.
Shoreline Drive wasn't always meant to carry traffic at freeway speeds through the heart of downtown. The corridor originally functioned as an urban freeway stub, physically separating downtown Long Beach from its own waterfront, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal agency awarded Long Beach a $30 million grant for a project that included pedestrian improvements and about 5.5 acres of expanded park space.
California's Crosswalk Law and the Limits of Fault
Under state law, the boy's path across the roadway outside a marked crosswalk would not by itself expose him to citation. California's Freedom to Walk Act, Assembly Bill 2147, took effect in January 2023 and prohibits an officer from stopping a pedestrian for specified infractions unless there is immediate danger of a collision, though California Vehicle Code Section 21954 still requires pedestrians crossing outside crosswalks to yield to vehicles so near as to constitute an immediate hazard, per state legislative analysis posted on CA.gov.
A Decade-High Death Toll in Vision Zero's Target Year
Friday's crash lands in a year that has already proven lethal on Long Beach streets. By late September, the city had logged 35 fatal traffic collisions for 2026, including an 18-day stretch that month in which six people — three pedestrians, a bicyclist, a motorcyclist, and a man using a wheelchair — were killed, according to Patch. That grim pace followed a record 2025, when Long Beach recorded 53 fatal traffic collisions — its highest annual total in more than a decade — with 32 of those deaths involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or scooter riders, a figure that exceeded the city's 29 homicides that year, as reported by LAist.
The city set a formal goal in May 2016 to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2026 under its Vision Zero resolution. Instead, as 2026 — the program's own target year — nears its end, fatalities have climbed rather than fallen since the pledge passed. Municipal planning data cited by Hoodline shows pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists make up just 14% of total traffic collisions citywide but account for 65% of all severe injuries and fatalities.
Fixes Proposed, but Slow to Arrive
Safety and pedestrian improvements have been proposed for Shoreline Drive.
Automated enforcement has lagged as well. Long Beach has designated 18 locations for eventual placement of speed cameras, the Long Beach Post reported. Warnings are planned for fall 2026, with citations expected that winter.
Investigation Continues
Friday's death adds to a year of fatal crashes on Long Beach streets. Anyone with information about Friday's crash is urged to call LBPD at 562-570-7132. Tipsters wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submit information at lacrimestoppers.org.
