LOS ANGELES, CA – One person was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the northbound Harbor (110) Freeway south of Vernon Avenue in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said it received the report of the crash at about 2:46 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, on the northbound side of the freeway south of Vernon Avenue. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced one victim dead at the scene.
The CHP’s Central Los Angeles Area office is investigating the collision. On Monday, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner identified the man who died as Jorge Medina Gonzalez, 40.
A SigAlert issued at 3:07 p.m. closed the freeway’s second, third and fourth lanes, and multiple lanes remained shut for hours while officers investigated.
Fire Department pronounces victim dead
Firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the northbound lanes shortly after the crash was reported. The department’s personnel pronounced one victim dead at the scene.
The CHP described the collision as a multi-vehicle crash and said its Central Los Angeles Area office is handling the investigation.
Role of the victim under investigation
A pedestrian was reported to be involved in the crash. The CHP said the victim’s role in the collision, and whether he was a pedestrian, is part of the investigation.
The CHP gave the same account of the crash to reporters on Sunday and Monday.
SigAlert closes three lanes
The CHP issued a SigAlert at 3:07 p.m., about 20 minutes after it received the first report, closing the second, third and fourth lanes of the northbound freeway.
The lanes stayed closed for hours while CHP officers investigated at the scene.
Medical Examiner identifies the victim
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner identified the man pronounced dead as Jorge Medina Gonzalez, 40. The identification was reported Nov. 2, the day after the crash.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Case Search tool lets the public look up a case and view information such as the “final cause and manner of death, assigned investigator, and current status (including whether the case is ready for release).” Identifications of people who die in crashes appear in that tool rather than in a news release.
The Medical Examiner’s final cause and manner of death for Medina Gonzalez had not been published in the information available Monday.
County traffic safety figures
The California Office of Traffic Safety publishes annual collision rankings for each county. For 2023, the office’s Los Angeles County page ranks the county 58th of 58 counties for total fatal and injury collisions, with 58,758 victims killed and injured.
The same page lists 4,034 pedestrian victims in the county for 2023, a ranking of 37th of 58 counties, and 12,319 speed-related collisions, ranked 58th of 58. The page reports an average population for the county of about 9.8 million.
Those figures cover Los Angeles County as a whole in 2023. They do not describe the Nov. 1 crash, the stretch of the 110 Freeway where it happened or any other year.
Investigation remains active
The CHP Central Los Angeles Area office continues to investigate the crash. Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact that office.
The CHP had not announced a cause, the number of vehicles involved or when all lanes reopened.
For now, the CHP has reported one death, a multi-vehicle collision and an open investigation into the victim’s role.
