Fatal Crash Renews Concerns About Long Beach River Channels
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A fatal crash Friday night has renewed concerns about the safety of Long Beach river channels.
Ashlee Armond, 20, drowned Friday when she accidentally drove her car through a chain-link fence and crashed into the Los Cerritos channel near Fifth Street and Silvera Avenue.
Her family members gathered at the site Monday evening and said they hope reflectors and barriers will be in place long after the flowers and candles at Armond's memorial disappear.
"I'm devastated. There should be something. You can't see. It's a chain-link fence. At least a cement wall or a brick wall or something," friend Taylor Murphey said.
"I just don't see any reason why we shouldn't put up more barriers. It's hard to see," Cassie Dill said.
CBS2/KCAL9 has learned of two other deadly crashes in the area.
One occurred in 2011 when a truck driver drove off College Park Drive.
In 2006, at the 22 off-ramp at Studebaker, divers tried to rescue a 22-year-old but couldn't save her in time.
Long Beach resident Nadine Akers said her grandmother almost crashed in the area as well, and locals feel it may be time to take the issue into their own hands after contacting city officials and failing to see results.
"Hopefully, this will get reflectors put back up. Maybe, we're thinking if they can't do it the neighborhood ourselves we want to all put money together, and we'll pay to do this because this is something that could be avoided," Akers said. "It's very deceiving."
Police are investigating what caused Armond's crash.
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