A driver involved in a tragic crash that killed a 2-year-old girl and seriously injured two others Monday in Long Beach has been arrested, KTLA has confirmed.
Officials with the Long Beach Police Department said the fatal March 2 accident occurred just before 11:30 a.m. at 440 Maine Avenue when the driver, now identified as Lamont Russell, 55, reversed over a curb and struck the toddler, her mother and her young cousin, all of whom were sitting on the front steps of the apartment building.
Police said the 2-year-old was so critically injured that two officers rushed her to the hospital in a patrol vehicle.
“The child was taken by a black and white with two officers, one driving and one providing life-saving care on the way to a local hospital,” LBPD Lt. Hotchkiss said.
Officials said the toddler, identified only as Myra by family members, was pronounced dead a short time later.
Myra’s mother, according to family, suffered several broken ribs, while her cousin suffered a broken leg. Both were rushed to the hospital by medical personnel with the Long Beach Fire Department where they were listed in stable condition.
Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)
Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)
Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)
Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)
Hotchkiss said the 55-year-old driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigators. It is unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.
“I heard a blood curdling scream. It sounded like someone was severely hurt or injured,” a woman who lives nearby told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade. “There was the white car backed all the way up onto someone’s porch that they were hanging out on.”
She said the white SUV had pinned one of the victims against the wall and another of the victims lying on the ground on the other side of the vehicle with a large gash on their shin.
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Community members have started a memorial near the apartment steps, leaving candles and flowers near the steps where Myra was killed.
“To hear that this tragedy happened today, it’s just awful,” neighbor Maria Barrientos told KTLA. “It’s absolutely awful to hear that this little girl, 2 years old – that fatality is something that family, and, quite honestly, the community is dealing with right now.”
While the investigation remains ongoing, jail records show Russell was arrested not long after the crash and booked on a felony charge.
He is being held on $300,000 bail.
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