LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A veteran Los Angeles police sergeant and a motorist in his 30s whose truck broke down were killed early Monday when the sergeant stopped on the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway to assist the man and both were struck by another vehicle.
The deadly multi-vehicle crash shut down the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway in the Brentwood area for the duration of the morning rush hour.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass identified the sergeant as Shiou Deng, a 27-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran.
“The men and women of LAPD put their lives on the line for Angelenos each and every day,” Bass said. “Sgt. Deng served L.A. for more than 25 years. His last act was one of service — putting the safety and wellbeing of others above all else. … My thoughts are with Sgt. Deng’s family during this devastating time.”
The crash was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 1:58 a.m. on the southbound San Diego Freeway just north of Moraga Drive where a silver truck was blocking the HOV lane.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the sergeant came upon the disabled vehicle and stopped, activating the rear lights on his patrol car to ward off traffic. The sergeant exited his vehicle to assist the other motorist, when both were struck by another vehicle.
The motorist died at the scene, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz said. The sergeant was taken by ambulance to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
McDonnell, Bass and a host of LAPD officers descended on the hospital.
The chief hailed Deng as “exceptionally funny” and “caring to a fault” for the officers under his command. McDonnell said Deng “tried to make the situation we face as good as it can be for his officers and for the people we have the privilege to serve in our society.”
McDonnell said Deng was a “true leader.
“He died a hero,” McDonnell said. “He was out there caring for others, putting their safety before his own.”
The body of the deceased motorist, who was not immediately identified, remained along the left side of the freeway hours after the crash until the medical examiner’s personnel arrived. Investigators were carefully collecting evidence, including the vehicles involved.
The CHP issued a SigAlert at 2:22 a.m. shutting down the southbound lanes at Getty Center Drive and the Skirball and Sepulveda Boulevard on-ramps. The northbound lanes were closed at about 3 a.m. as well as the Moraga Drive on- ramp.
Northbound lanes reopened at 4:23 a.m., but southbound lanes remained closed as of 9 a.m. with traffic diverted at the Ventura (101) Freeway. Southbound freeway traffic was at a standstill for the duration of the morning commute.
Drivers taking Sepulveda Boulevard as an alternative were able to get back onto the southbound 405 at Moraga Drive.
Flags above city buildings will be lowered to half-staff in Deng’s honor, Bass said.
Around 9 a.m. Monday, dozens of LAPD officers assembled at the Westwood hospital to take part in a procession escorting Deng’s body to the medical examiner’s office in East Los Angeles.
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