Officers in Redondo Beach issued 100 citations to drivers during three traffic enforcement operations carried out in the city over the past five weeks, all in an effort to reduce traffic violations and change drivers’ behavior, authorities said Friday.
On Tuesday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Redondo Beach police were joined by officers from Torrance, Hawthorne, El Segundo and Manhattan Beach police departments to catch dangerous drivers across the city and 57 citations were written and another 17 drivers received warnings, according to Sgt. Stephen Sprengel of the Redondo Beach Police Department.
On February 20, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and on March 16 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., officers patrolled Aviation Boulevard and issued 43 citations, Sprengel said.
Aviation Boulevard was chosen for enhanced patrols because of two deadly accidents that occurred in January, Sprengel said. On Jan. 12, a man was killed when his vehicle crashed into a utility pole and burst into flames in the 1600 block of Aviation Boulevard.
Two weeks later, on Jan. 26, a 21-year-old woman, identified as Angelina Calderon Pinedo, 21, of Rosemead, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver at the intersection of Aviation Boulevard and Grant Avenue. The driver of the vehicle, Leila Gonzalez, 21, of Bell, was arrested Jan. 28 and booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run resulting in death, according to the Redondo Beach Police Department.
Police encouraged drivers to slow down, stop at stop signs, look for pedestrians and drive free of distractions.