LOS ANGELES, CA – A woman was killed and another person was hospitalized after a high-speed, multi-vehicle crash in Long Beach that police say involved an impaired driver who initially fled the scene before returning and being arrested.
The collision happened at approximately 2:40 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, in the 6900 block of Atlantic Avenue, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Officers were dispatched after receiving a report of an injury collision involving several vehicles.
A preliminary investigation found that a 2019 Volvo driven by a 38-year-old Compton resident was traveling northbound on Atlantic Avenue at what police described as a high rate of speed.
The Volvo collided with a 2004 Chevrolet that was turning onto Atlantic Place from Atlantic Avenue, police said.
The force of the impact caused the Chevrolet to overturn.
After hitting the Chevrolet, the Volvo continued into two other occupied vehicles that were stationary at the intersection, according to investigators.
Long Beach Fire Department personnel responded and found an adult woman who had been riding in the Chevrolet.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not released her identity pending notification of relatives by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
The adult male driver of the Chevrolet was transported to a local hospital.
Authorities have not released his medical condition.
Four people were inside the two stationary vehicles that were also struck — two adult women and two children — but none of them was injured, according to LBPD.
Police identified the Volvo driver as Adalberto Delgado-Perez, 38, of Compton.
Investigators said Delgado-Perez initially left the scene after the collision.
He returned a short time later and was taken into custody.
Delgado-Perez was booked into the Long Beach City Jail on suspicion of hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, police said.
His bail was set at $100,000.
The allegations have not been proven in court, and Delgado-Perez is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
LBPD said both speed and impaired driving appear to have contributed to the collision.
Police have not publicly released Delgado-Perez’s blood-alcohol concentration or described what evidence investigators used to determine that impairment was a contributing factor.
They also have not said where he went during the period between leaving the crash scene and returning.
The sequence of impacts makes the investigation more complex than a typical two-vehicle collision.
Detectives must reconstruct the Volvo’s path before and after its initial impact with the Chevrolet, determine the movement of the Chevrolet as it overturned and document the subsequent collisions involving the two stationary vehicles.
Investigators may also examine vehicle data, roadway evidence, witness statements and any surveillance or dashboard-camera footage that captured the crash.
Police have not said whether such video has been recovered.
The case is being handled by the Long Beach Police Department’s Collision Investigation Detail, the unit responsible for investigating serious and fatal traffic collisions.
LBPD’s official announcement asks witnesses or anyone with information to contact the department’s collision investigators.
The crash comes as Long Beach continues pursuing its broader traffic-safety strategy through Safe Streets Long Beach, an initiative based on the Vision Zero principle that traffic deaths and serious injuries should be preventable rather than accepted as inevitable.
The City Council adopted the Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan in 2020 with a goal of eliminating fatal and serious traffic injuries by 2026.
The plan uses collision data, street design, enforcement and public education to identify the conditions most closely associated with severe crashes.
Speed is a major focus of that effort.
Long Beach says its collision data show that motorists traveling too fast for conditions are the most common factor associated with fatal and serious injury crashes in the city.
The city has responded in part by reducing speed limits on more than 100 street segments and by redesigning portions of major corridors to reduce the likelihood that mistakes result in fatal consequences.
Long Beach has specifically identified lowering vehicle speeds as one of the most effective tools available for reducing traffic deaths because higher speeds increase both the likelihood of a crash and the severity of injuries when one occurs.
Those broader safety policies do not establish what happened in Saturday’s collision, but they provide context for why investigators are emphasizing the Volvo’s alleged speed as a contributing factor.
Impaired driving is the other major element in the criminal investigation.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles states that it is illegal to operate a vehicle while alcohol or drugs impair a person’s ability to drive safely.
For drivers age 21 or older, California law prohibits driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher.
A driver can also be arrested or convicted for DUI at a lower BAC when other evidence establishes impairment.
Authorities have not disclosed Delgado-Perez’s BAC, so it is not possible to determine publicly which specific evidence supports the DUI allegation.
A DUI arrest can also trigger administrative consequences separate from the criminal prosecution.
The DMV says an officer may confiscate a driver’s license following a DUI arrest and issue a temporary license while an administrative suspension process begins.
Drivers generally have 10 days to request a DMV hearing challenging that action.
The criminal allegations in Delgado-Perez’s case are considerably more serious because the collision resulted in a death and an injury.
Police booked him on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, meaning prosecutors will have to evaluate not only the evidence of alleged impairment but also whether his driving conduct met the legal threshold for gross negligence.
The Orange County or Los Angeles context sometimes differs in who prosecutes these cases, but because the crash occurred in Long Beach, any filing decision would ordinarily be reviewed through the appropriate Los Angeles County prosecutorial process.
LBPD has not announced that formal charges have yet been filed.
The hit-and-run allegation will also require investigators to establish what Delgado-Perez did after the collision and whether he failed to perform duties required of a driver involved in a crash causing injury or death.
Police have already stated that he left and later returned, but they have not disclosed the length of time he was gone or whether anyone contacted him before he came back.
The woman who died has not been publicly identified.
Authorities also have not said where she was seated in the Chevrolet or whether she and the male driver were related.
The Medical Examiner will release her identity after the notification process is completed.
The crash occurred during daylight hours on Atlantic Avenue, a major north-south corridor through Long Beach.
The city’s Safe Streets planning has previously included safety improvements on Atlantic Avenue as part of its broader effort to reduce serious collisions.
That does not mean roadway design contributed to Saturday’s crash.
The preliminary police investigation specifically points to speed and impairment as contributing factors.
Long Beach’s Vision Zero program has repeatedly emphasized that severe traffic crashes carry consequences well beyond the people directly involved.
A city progress report noted that traffic deaths in Long Beach have at times outnumbered homicides and described roadway fatalities as an ongoing public-health problem requiring changes in street design, enforcement and driver behavior.
Saturday’s collision resulted in one death, one hospitalization and damage involving at least four vehicles.
Four additional occupants — including two children — escaped without physical injuries.
Police have not released an estimate of how fast the Volvo was traveling or said whether investigators have downloaded electronic data from the vehicle.
They also have not disclosed whether Delgado-Perez submitted to breath or blood testing after his arrest.
Those details may become relevant if prosecutors formally file charges.
Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information that could assist investigators is asked to contact the Long Beach Police Department Collision Investigation Detail.
LBPD’s official release lists Detective D. Dougherty as the investigator handling witness information.
Anonymous information can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers.
The woman’s identity remains pending, and the circumstances leading to the collision remain under investigation.
