A Palmdale woman was killed and a man was critically injured Saturday when a speeding pickup crashed into trees and a fire hydrant in the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach.
Paramedics and firefighters were dispatched at 5:30 a.m. to the 3800 block of Atlantic Avenue, where firefighters extricated the man and woman from a vehicle, the Long Beach Fire Department reported.
The driver, a Long Beach resident, was speeding southbound on Atlantic in a blue 1995 Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck when he lost control of the vehicle and allowed it to strike the curb, a fire hydrant and three trees, fire officials said.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and paramedics rushed the man to a trauma center, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.
The woman was identified as 50-year-old Erica Mitchell.
“The truck had two large containers of used cooking oil that spilled onto the street as a result of the collision that prompted a city of Long Beach Environmental Unit response to coordinate the clean-up,” authorities said.
Collision investigation detectives with the Long Beach Police Department urged anyone with information about the crash to call them at 562- 570-7355. Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or by visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.
