A four-vehicle collision at Aviation Boulevard and Manhattan Beach Boulevard left one person dead and sent several others, including an on-duty police officer, to the hospital late Friday night. The crash happened around 10:12 p.m. in the eastbound lanes outside a McDonald's, and by Saturday morning the roadway was still choked down to a single lane in each direction.
According to Patch, the crash occurred at approximately 10:12 p.m. at Aviation Boulevard and Manhattan Beach Boulevard and involved four vehicles, including a marked Manhattan Beach police patrol car. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while several others were transported to a local hospital for treatment, the outlet reported.
Officer Caught Up in the Wreck
Per the Patch report, an on-duty officer witnessed the initial collision before the officer's own marked patrol vehicle and another car were also struck. The injured officer was among those hospitalized, though police said the officer's injuries were not life-threatening, the station noted.
The exact location and the lingering road closure were detailed by Manhattan Beach News, which reported that the accident occurred in the eastbound lanes of Manhattan Beach Boulevard outside McDonald's. As of Saturday morning, only one lane was open in each direction on Manhattan Beach Boulevard between Aviation and Redondo avenues, according to the outlet.
Cause Still Under Investigation
Manhattan Beach police and fire personnel found multiple injured parties at the scene, and one involved party was declared deceased there, per the department's statement relayed by Patch. Investigators have not determined what caused the crash, and the matter remains under investigation.
Manhattan Beach police are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Traffic Officer Gaunt at (310) 802-5098. Friday night's wreck is not the first deadly multi-vehicle crash to rattle the beach city in recent memory — a four-car collision at Marine Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard previously killed three people, as ABC7 reported, though investigators in that case said the cause remained unclear even after one vehicle struck a nearby building.
Manhattan Beach has also seen high-speed tragedy on its streets before. A January 2025 crash on the 300 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard killed 18-year-old Ford Savela after the car's recorded speed reached 106 mph in the five seconds leading up to the crash and was 83 mph at impact, when it struck a car making a left turn, an investigator testified, according to the Daily Breeze. No cause has been disclosed for Friday's collision, and police have not said whether speed or any other factor played a role.
