A man in his 30s was killed Wednesday when a compact car that may have collided with an SUV crashed off the Shoemaker Bridge in Long Beach, police said.
The crash occurred about 1 a.m. near the Sixth Street off-ramp from the southbound Long Beach (710) Freeway, said Long Beach police Lt. Greg Schirmer.
Arriving officers found a 2006 Toyota Scion that had traveled off the bridge and landed on a freeway transition road to Terminal Island, according to Long Beach police.
Firefighters cut the man from the wreckage and took him to a hospital, where he later died.
“Another male occupant of the Toyota was later discovered in the area of the collision,” according to a police statement. “He sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. His involvement in the collision is unclear and remains under investigation.”
According to a preliminary investigation, the Toyota was headed south on the freeway, approaching the Shoemaker Bridge/Terminal Island split, when it traveled off the bridge and landed on the transition road from the freeway to Terminal Island, police said.
“Detectives believe the Toyota may have made contact with a Ford Escape prior to traveling off the Shoemaker Bridge,” according to Long Beach police.
The silver compact SUV had the California license plate number 5MOV326.
The name of the deceased man, who was in his 30s, was withheld pending notification of his relatives, coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said.
Traffic was routed off the southbound 710 Freeway at Anaheim Street for about five hours while an investigation was conducted.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has information about the Ford Escape was urged to call Detective Sirilo Garcia of the Long Beach Police Department’s Collision Investigation Detail at (562) 570-7110.
— Wire reports