Study shows deadly crashes on the rise across Los Angeles

A new study released by the Los Angeles Police Department details a troubling trend in fatal traffic crashes across the city of Los Angeles, as numbers appear to be increasing on a yearly basis. 

In 2023, the amount of deadly crashes in LA jumped to 364, up from 303 in 2022, just part of the troubling trend that police have noticed. 

Of those fatal collisions, 123 happened in LAPD's Valley Bureau, 116 in the South Bureau and more than 60 each in the West and Central Bureaus. They say that the number of fatalities in the South Bureau is an all-time high recorded by the department. 

LAPD South Bureau Traffic Detective Ryan Moreno had a simple explanation for the driving force behind the concerning numbers. 

"It's really speed," Moreno said. "If people slow down a lot of these collisions maybe could be avoided, but if not, they actually would be to the point where maybe people don't die."

He said another pressing issue that the department has noticed is the amount of hit-and-run collisions they now deal with, urging drivers to stop after they're involved in a crash. 

While the fatal crashes have increased, the report also shows a notable decrease in the amount of LAPD officers assigned to traffic patrols. 

A public record shows that since 2015, LAPD Valley Traffic personnel has fallen from 288 to 189, nearly 20 officers a year.

Moreno said that both the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and LAPD are working to create a vehicular homicide unit, which could free up traffic officers to conduct other business.