The first collision occurred around 7 a.m. in Lancaster when a gray SUV traveling east on Avenue M swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on with a school bus near 20th Street West, according to Deputy Veronica Fantom, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The SUV driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fantom reported that no children were on the school bus at the time of the crash. However, KTLA stated that two adults on board were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. It remains unclear whether alcohol, drugs, or speed were factors in the collision, Fantom said.
The second fatal accident took place around 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Del Amo and Norwalk boulevards, near the border of Lakewood and Cerritos. A vehicle ran a red light and collided with a school bus, Fantom said. The impact caused the vehicle to veer onto a sidewalk, where it struck an elderly woman riding a bicycle. Paramedics from the L.A. County Fire Department arrived at the scene and pronounced the cyclist dead.
No children were on the bus involved in the second crash, and no additional injuries were reported, according to Fantom.
Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She previously covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News, where her investigative series on fentanyl addiction earned her a first-place award from the L.A. Press Club. A graduate of Columbia University with a degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies, Harter is an avid surfer who enjoys spending her free time in the ocean.
