A 20 year-old drunk driver ran a red light and killed Officer Darrell Cunningham, an off-duty LAPD officer, in a car crash in Northridge, California.
The suspect was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, and evidence at the scene indicated the BMW was going as fast as approximately 100 mph.
LAPD Officer Dies in Car Crash
Officer Cunningham and his front seat passenger were pronounced dead at the scene on Saturday around 1:15 a.m. Three other passengers in the back seat were injured, including the drunk driver.
Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department reported that an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy was among the three others injured in the back seat.
The police said that Cunningham was driving a white Infinity northbound on Lindley when the drunk man failed to stop for the red light at the intersection.
Margaret Stewart, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, reported that firefighters were called to 18101 W. Roscoe Blvd., near the intersection with Lindley Avenue, at 1:19 a.m. The firefighters found three people trapped inside vehicles, one car placed against a building, and a damaged fire hydrant.
Moore said in a news conference in front of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office that the driver of the black, four-door BMW was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.
Furthermore, the woman inside the BMW survived but suffered from severe injuries. Moore said that others were trapped because of the force and level of damage created by the horrific collision.
On Sunday, the police reported that the unidentified driver was still in the hospital. The police said once he was officially booked, they would release his name.
LAPD Mourns for Cunningham's Loss
Moore said that Cunningham, who had registered for nearly five years with the LAPD, was survived by a fiancee, a 3-year-old son, and a 6-year-old son. Cunningham also had worked out of the department's West Los Angeles station.
"We mourn the loss of Officer Darrell Cunningham who was killed along with his friend by the senseless violence of a DUI driver. May God welcome him home," Moore said. He added that the department would do everything to support his fiancé, two sons, mother, and two brothers.
Moore authorized the LAPD to wear mourning bands in Cunningham's honor. Furthermore, the LAPD posted that the Department's Multi-Disciplinary Collision Investigation Team was handling the investigation.
Incidents like the Northridge tragedy have been a wake-up call to work together toward creating safer roads for everyone. Policymakers should start prioritizing the prevention of drunk driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drunk driving took the lives of 10,511 people in the United States in 2020.
