Neighborhood News

PCH Fatality | Castellammare

A vehicle in Pacific Palisades left the roadway and crashed into two parked vehicles, leaving one man dead and three individuals critically injured early Saturday morning, November 21.

The vehicle was headed southbound on Pacific Coast Highway when it steered off the road and struck the two vehicles, according to Officer Jeffrey Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section.

The crash was reported at 3:38 a.m. in the 17800 block of Pacific Coast Highway, and forced a closure of the northbound and southbound lanes from Sunset Boulevard to Coastline Drive, according to Caltrans.

Paramedics and firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 3:42 a.m. and reported that three people were critically injured, and another suffered minor injuries. All were transported to area hospitals, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The deceased was later identified as David Martinez, 28. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Martinez was sitting inside one of the parked vehicles, according to Lee.

City News Service contributed to this report.

—LILY TINOCO

LAFD Extinguishes Condominium Fire | The Highlands

Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished a fire Saturday night, November 21, inside a three-story condominium in the Highlands neighborhood that was first reported at 8:40 p.m.

Thirty-one firefighters were sent to the scene, which was reported to be in the 17000 block of Palisades Circle, according to LAFD Spokesperson Brian Humphrey.

The fire began in the fireplace/chimney area, Humphrey wrote, and extended into the attic. The flames were knocked down in about 31 minutes.

No victims were reported and the cause of the fire remained under investigation, according to Humphrey.

—SARAH SHMERLING

Hiker Rescue | Santa Monica Mountains

A ground and air response by Los Angeles Fire Department was launched at dusk on Saturday, November 21, to find and assist two uninjured but lost hikers east of the Temescal Canyon Fire Road, according to LAFD Spokesperson Brian Humphrey. The incident was reported at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The LAFD helicopter crew located the hikers and were reported to hoist them into the hovering copter before transporting them to or nearby the trailhead where their vehicle was parked.

—SARAH SHMERLING

Cliff Rescue | Via Bluffs

At approximately 5:25 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported person trapped on the cliffside near 15500 W Via De Las Olas, according to LAFD’s Margaret Stewart.

“Firefighters located an approximately 30 [year-old] female with non-life-threatening injuries stuck in a location (in brush on a steep hillside with no footing) in which a hoist operation is the preferred approach,” Stewart reported.

Due to minimal visibility caused by fog, an alternate plan was developed and firefighters were able to safely bring the “patient back up to ground level and transported her to the hospital.”

—SARAH SHMERLING