A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy was hospitalized Thursday morning after a crash involving a patrol vehicle and two other cars left the cruiser overturned near Calabasas Road and Parkway Calabasas. The deputy needed help from firefighters to get out of the vehicle before being taken to a hospital.
Red Light Blamed for Triggering the Crash
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, the collision was reported just before 8:40 a.m. Thursday at the intersection, while KTLA reported the crash happened around 8:30 a.m. near the same intersection — the exact timing remains unsettled between the two accounts. Authorities told KTLA that the deputy was on duty but was not responding to any call when another car ran a red light and struck the patrol vehicle.
The station's report adds that it remains unclear how a third vehicle involved in the crash was struck. Sheriff's officials said the deputy became trapped inside the cruiser, and per the same account, firefighters had to help pull the deputy free before paramedics loaded them into an ambulance.
Conflicting Reports on Conditions
KTLA reported that the deputy was taken to the hospital in stable condition, and that the driver of the vehicle accused of running the red light was also transported and listed in stable condition. FOX 11 Los Angeles, however, described both the deputy's condition and the other driver's condition as unknown at the time of its report. The discrepancy between the two accounts has not been resolved in available reporting.
The intersection was expected to stay closed for an unknown duration while the sheriff's department investigated the collision, the station's report notes. No further details on the investigation's findings have been released.
Part of a Broader Pattern of LASD Crash Costs
Thursday's crash adds to a string of costly collisions involving Sheriff's Department vehicles across the county. LAist reported that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $4.9 million to settle four lawsuits tied to collisions involving Sheriff's Department patrol cars between 2018 and 2020, with all four plaintiffs alleging deputy negligence. A separate audit cited by the outlet found 196 total collisions at the Lakewood Sheriff's Station between 2020 and 2024, 129 of which were classified as preventable — though that finding is specific to that station and is not evidence about Thursday's Calabasas crash.
In another case, the county approved a $2 million settlement over a 2023 traffic collision involving a sheriff's deputy responding to a call about a gunshot victim, according to Patch. A county investigation in that case determined the deputy caused the crash by failing to yield to oncoming traffic. Calabasas has also seen other serious roadway incidents, including a three-vehicle crash near Las Virgenes and Lost Hills roads that killed one person and injured six others, according to ABC7.
