Imagine crossing a street in Downtown Long Beach on a warm Monday night, only to be struck down by a driver who didn't even have the decency to tap their brakes.
Now, imagine lying injured in the dark roadway. Before help can arrive, a second driver hits you. They don't stop either. Also making headlines lately: Why Trump Backing Mike Lindell For Minnesota Governor Changes Everything.
Then, a third driver strikes you. They also speed away into the night.
It sounds like a nightmare, but it’s exactly what happened on July 13, 2026, on Ocean Boulevard. One man. Three separate cars. Zero stops. Further information regarding the matter are explored by Associated Press.
This horrifying incident isn't just a bizarre anomaly. It's a stark, painful symptom of a much larger epidemic plaguing our roadways. We need to talk about what happened, why it keeps happening, and how we can stop our streets from turning into active combat zones for pedestrians.
The Anatomy of a Tragedy on Ocean Boulevard
The timeline of the crash is as baffling as it is devastating. Around 10:44 p.m. on Monday, a male pedestrian was walking across Ocean Boulevard, just west of Golden Avenue. He was crossing outside of a marked crosswalk.
Here is how the tragedy unfolded, according to investigators from the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD):
- The First Strike: An unidentified black vehicle traveling eastbound in the number two lane hit the man. The driver didn't slow down. They kept going east on Ocean Boulevard.
- The Second Strike: As the man lay in the road, a white truck struck him again. This driver also fled.
- The Third Strike: Moments later, a red sedan hit him for a third time. Like the others, this driver left the scene without stopping to help or call 911.
By the time Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived at the scene around 11:44 p.m., there was nothing they could do. The man was pronounced dead right there on the asphalt. His identity has been withheld while the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner works to notify his family.
It's easy to read a headline like this and feel a sense of detachment. But think about the sheer mathematical improbability of three consecutive drivers all choosing cowardice over human life within minutes of each other. It points to a deeply broken driving culture.
The Shocking Numbers Behind Long Beach Traffic Deaths
This man's death isn't an isolated tragedy. It’s the 27th traffic-related fatality investigated by the LBPD in 2026 alone.
To put that in perspective, look at where the city is coming from. In 2025, Long Beach recorded 56 traffic deaths. That made 2025 the deadliest year on the city's roads since at least 1990. While local officials have been trying to push "Vision Zero" initiatives to eliminate traffic deaths, the reality on the asphalt is telling a very different story.
We're on track to match or exceed those terrifying numbers if something doesn't change fast.
The stretch of Ocean Boulevard where this happened—near Golden Avenue and Golden Shore—is a classic example of poor urban design. It's wide. It has multiple lanes. It’s designed to funnel cars quickly to and from the freeway. When streets are designed like freeways, drivers treat them like freeways. They speed. They lose focus. They fail to look out for the most vulnerable people sharing the space.
Why Do Drivers Flee the Scene?
In California, leaving the scene of an accident that results in injury or death is a severe crime under Vehicle Code 20001. It's a felony that carries years in state prison. Yet, hit-and-runs remain incredibly common across Southern California. Why?
The reasons are usually predictable, though entirely inexcusable:
- Panic and Fear: The initial shot of adrenaline can make drivers make the worst decision of their lives.
- Driving Under the Influence: Many drivers flee because they know a sobriety test at the scene will land them in jail immediately. They foolishly hope to sober up before the police find them.
- Lack of Licensing or Insurance: Unlicensed or uninsured drivers often run to escape financial or legal ruin, ignoring the fact that fleeing makes their situation ten times worse.
- A Lack of Consequence: Frankly, many hit-and-run drivers get away with it. Without clear license plate footage or witnesses, these cases can be incredibly tough for police to solve.
But a triple hit-and-run is on another level. It suggests a complete normalization of roadway violence. The second and third drivers might have assumed they just hit debris, or maybe they saw what they did and panicked because they were already tailgating or speeding. Whatever the reason, leaving a human being to die in the street is a moral failure of the highest order.
How to Fix Our Lethal Street Design
We can't just tell pedestrians to "watch out" or blame them for crossing outside of crosswalks. Urban planners know that people will always take the most direct path to their destination. If crosswalks are spaced too far apart, people will jaywalk.
Instead of trying to change basic human behavior, we have to change our road design. Here is how we actually fix this:
Implementing Road Diets
We need to put our streets on a diet. By reducing the number of vehicle lanes or narrowing them, we naturally force drivers to slow down. The extra space can be used for wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian refuge islands.
Pedestrian Refuge Islands
When crossing a wide, multi-lane road like Ocean Boulevard, pedestrians are exposed to danger for too long. A concrete refuge island in the middle of the street gives walkers a safe place to stop, split their crossing into two stages, and focus on one direction of traffic at a time.
Automated Speed Enforcement
Speed is the number one predictor of whether a pedestrian survives a crash. If a car hits you at 20 mph, you have a 90% chance of survival. At 40 mph, your chance of survival drops to just 10%. Speed cameras and tighter enforcement on known high-injury corridors can literally save lives overnight.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you have any information about the vehicles involved in Monday night's crash, please speak up. The police are looking for three specific vehicles: an unknown black vehicle, a white truck, and a red sedan.
- Contact the Investigator: Call LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective Ashley Van Holland at 562-570-7355.
- Stay Anonymous: If you want to keep your name out of it, you can submit tips through LA Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visiting LACrimeStoppers.org.
If you're a driver, make a commitment to slow down, especially after dark. Put the phone away. Assume there is someone in the roadway you can't see yet. If you are ever involved in a collision, stop immediately. Put your hazard lights on, call 911, and use your vehicle to shield the victim from incoming traffic so a tragedy like Monday's never happens again.
