Crash near Long Beach Airport kills 81-year-old man, police say
The man was driving a van on Lakewood Boulevard at Wardlow Road when he collided another vehicle Monday morning, according to authorities.
Police are investigating the death of an 81-year-old Long Beach resident who was driving a van that collided with a Ford Bronco in an intersection near the airport Monday morning.
Long Beach police say the 1998 Chevy van, driven by Richard Adam Brown, was headed southbound on Lakewood Boulevard when he turned left onto eastbound Wardlow Road around 8:11 a.m. Monday.
The van first hit a 2024 Ford Bronco in the intersection, then increased speed and crashed into a tree on the south sidewalk of Wardlow Road, police added. It's unclear which direction the Bronco was traveling.
Left-hand turns at that intersection are protected and it is unclear what led to both vehicles being in the intersection at the same time.
Long Beach Fire Department personnel gave Brown medical aid, but he died of his injuries at the scene, according to authorities.
The man driving the Bronco remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, police said.
At this time, the LBPD said investigators believe speed was apparently a contributing factor in the crash.
Authorities are asking anyone who may have seen the crash to contact LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective David Dougherty at 562-570-7355.
This is the 28th traffic fatality reported by the LBPD in 2026. Last year, the department reported 56 traffic-related fatalities from 53 crashes, making it the deadliest year on the road since at least 1990, when the city reported 51 deaths, according to LBPD data from a public records request by the Watchdog.
The LBPD reported 31 traffic fatalities by this time last year.
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