A series of four traffic accidents unfolded last week and there seems to be no apparent reason to link any of them together. Not even poor visibility as we’ve found ourselves in a soup-like fog a few times this week. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) nothing about weather or other environmental conditions can be attributed to any of the collisions.
On Sunday, September 29 at about 6:30pm, there was an incident where a bicyclist was struck in the 1500 block of Pico Blvd near Santa Monica College. According to SMPD, there was no DUI or hit and run but information regarding the circumstances has not yet been released.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, there was a single vehicle rollover on the Pacific Coast Highway at the McClure Tunnel that affected traffic in both directions, closing southbound traffic from California to Moomat Ahiko/Ocean and northbound traffic south of California. An all-clear was broadcast a little after 5am on Tuesday morning and according to SMDP it was a misdemeanor DUI with no injuries, thankfully.
Also early on Tuesday morning, a vehicle traveling down Wilshire Blvd lost control as it approached the Ocean Ave intersection, ultimately crashing through a section of the fence at Palisades Park before coming to a precarious stop with part of the vehicle actually dangling over the bluffs. Incredibly, according to SMPD, this isn’t the first time that an accident like this has happened, almost always because of a vehicle speeding. There are no confirmed reports of injuries and authorities are investigating whether the driver was under the influence at the time of the incident.
Maintenance crews responded quickly and were seen on Tuesday morning, installing a temporary chain-link fence to secure the area and reinforce the damaged section together with replanting vegetation that had been torn out during the impact.
And again on Tuesday, just before 4pm, there was an incident on the westbound lane of Olympic Blvd between Cloverfield Blvd and 21st Street. Early indications are that it wasn’t serious, but traffic was shut down at the intersection by Ralphs, which caused significant disruption given the time of day.
An unspecified type of scooter was struck by a vehicle and there was a rumor on social media that it was a hit and run, which is false. The driver was cooperative and stayed on the scene, plus there was no DUI or any other kind of impairment.
scott.snowden@smdp.com
