San Fernando Valley sees sharp rise in deadly crashes
The streets of the San Fernando Valley are getting more dangerous and more deadly.
The latest collision happened at the corner of Balboa and Victory Boulevards when a speeding car collided with another vehicle and killed a mother, Kathy Sanchez.
Businesses in the area are still replacing broken glass after the deadly crash sent half of a car into the shopping center earlier this week.
"They just drive fast," said Heng Oum, who owns a nearby donut shop. "They forget about the speed."
Commander Craig Valenzuela, the head of the Los Angeles Police Department's traffic division, said that in the past three years, the San Fernando Valley has seen a sharp rise in deadly crashes. In 2019, the Valley Bureau had 86 fatal crashes. While the number dropped significantly during the pandemic, as fewer cars were on the road, it shot back up to 100 in 2022 — a 16% increase.
"People are driving too fast," said Valenzuela. "I think we have a responsibility to slow down to defensive drive."
Just this week, there have been a few deadly crashes in the Valley, much to the dismay that many that are living there.
"For anybody that knows the valley — wide open spaces," said Valenzuela. "More distance between lights. Higher ability to gain those speeds."
Across the country, law enforcement agencies are battling staffing shortages. Valley Traffic has 176 sworn officers serving an area of nearly 1.5 million people. Each crash investigation takes an officer away from other duties.
"It takes them away from proactive enforcement," said Valenzuela.
Proactive enforcement such as patrols in problem areas or ticket citations which the commander says serve as reminders to slow down.
In the meantime, crashes like the one outside of Oum's don't shop must serve as that cautionary tale.
"I tell people 'you should slow down,' every day," he said.
