6 People Killed On Long Beach Roads In 18 Days

LONG BEACH, CA — Six people were killed in traffic collisions across Long Beach during an 18-day stretch this month, adding to a deadly year on city streets as Long Beach reaches the deadline it set for eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries.

The six fatal collisions occurred between Sept. 4 and Sept. 21 and killed three pedestrians, a bicyclist, a motorcyclist and a man using a wheelchair, according to Long Beach Police Department reports and previous Patch reporting.

The latest victim, 48-year-old Kellee Devers, was struck while lying in the roadway near Pacific Avenue and Sixth Street at about 10:52 p.m. Monday. The driver stopped and cooperated with investigators, and police said speed and impaired driving did not appear to have contributed to the collision.

Her death marked Long Beach's 35th fatal traffic collision of 2026, according to the Long Beach Post. The city recorded 53 fatal collisions in 2025, its highest annual total in more than a decade. Earlier this month, after the Sept. 13 fatality, Long Beach had recorded 34 fatal crashes compared with 36 at the same point last year.

September's deadly stretch began shortly after 11 p.m. Sept. 4, when a 68-year-old Long Beach bicyclist was struck by the trailer of a semi-truck turning from a parking lot near Pacific Coast Highway and Canal Avenue. The bicyclist died at a hospital the following day, although police said they were not notified of his death until Sept. 10. The truck driver continued eastbound on PCH after the collision.

On Sept. 5, 72-year-old Song Tate was struck by a hit-and-run driver near Long Beach Boulevard and East 23rd Street, knocking her into the path of a Metro A Line train. The driver remained at large as of this week, according to the Long Beach Post.

Five days later, a motorcyclist was killed in a collision with an SUV at Atlantic Avenue and Villa Park. Police said the motorcyclist ran a red light before colliding with the SUV, while speed was being investigated as a possible factor.

Deadly Collisions On Major Corridors

Another pedestrian was killed Sept. 13 while crossing Pacific Avenue north of Pacific Coast Highway outside a marked crosswalk. Police said the man was struck by three vehicles, two of which left the scene.

On Sept. 18, a man using a wheelchair was killed while crossing PCH at East Seventh Street in a marked crosswalk. Police arrested 23-year-old Ethan Chung of Irvine after officers located him and a BMW near Second Street and PCH. Chung was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter.

Three days later came the collision that killed Devers on Pacific Avenue. Two of the six fatal collisions occurred on Pacific Avenue, a street already identified by Long Beach as part of its High Injury Network and ranked by the city as its fourth-most-dangerous corridor for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Long Beach is preparing major safety improvements along Pacific Avenue. On the southern portion, from Ocean Boulevard to PCH, the city plans to reconfigure the five-lane roadway and add separated bicycle lanes, protected intersections, sidewalk improvements and other traffic-calming measures. City data found just 14 percent of drivers traveled at or below the posted 25 mph speed limit along the corridor.

A second project covering roughly two miles of Pacific Avenue between PCH and Wardlow Road is also intended to improve safety and accessibility along the High Injury Network corridor.

Vision Zero Target Year Arrives

The September deaths come as Long Beach reaches the target year of its Vision Zero road-safety initiative. Long Beach's Safe Streets program aims to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by 2026. The City Council adopted the Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan in 2020, building on the city's earlier commitment to Vision Zero and using collision data, street design, education and enforcement to focus safety efforts.

The city is also preparing to begin automated speed enforcement under a five-year California pilot program. Long Beach's Speed Safety System will use cameras in school zones and on high-injury streets to detect vehicles traveling at least 11 mph over the speed limit.

The city's current timeline calls for warnings during fall 2026 and citations beginning this winter, with the pilot scheduled to continue through 2031.

Despite the concentration of deaths this month, Long Beach's year-to-date fatal-crash total remained slightly below last year's pace as of mid-September. The six collisions nevertheless come during the year the city selected as its target for reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries to zero.

Related:

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• Woman Killed While Lying In Downtown Long Beach Street
• Man Killed After Being Struck By 3 Vehicles In Long Beach Identified