Suspected drunk driver backs into family in West Village, killing toddler
The child and two others were sitting on a stoop in the 400 block of Maine Avenue when they were hit, according to authorities.
Police are investigating the death of a toddler who was hit by an alleged drunk driver while sitting on the front steps of a house Monday.
Long Beach police say three people, including 12-year-old and 20-month-old girls, were sitting on the stoop of a home in the 400 block of Maine Avenue when a man driving a 2013 Chevy Captiva reversed at high speed while turning around. The driver jumped the curb, hitting the three people on the stoop, according to police.
One person was pinned between the car and a wall, while another victim was lying on the ground “with a big old gash on their shin,” a witness told NBC 4’s Mekahlo Medina.
An LBPD officer aided the 20-month-old girl, before taking her to a local hospital, where she later died of her injuries, police said.
Long Beach Fire Department personnel took the other two victims to the hospital in stable condition, according to authorities.
The driver of the SUV, identified as Lamont Ivan Russell, 55, of Long Beach, remained at the scene, police said.
Officers arrested Russell, police said. He was booked at the Long Beach City Jail for felony vehicular manslaughter, felony DUI, and misdemeanor battery, police added
His bail was set at $335,000, according to authorities.
Police are asking anyone who saw the crash to call LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective Dougherty at 562-570-7355
This is the 13th 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 just five traffic fatalities by this time last year.
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