LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — Police in Long Beach say residents can expect to see increased traffic enforcement as the city experiences a rise in deadly crashes.<\/p>\n
“This is a significant situation,” Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish said. “When we see an increase in traffic fatalities; when we see people losing their lives in traffic collisions, it’s devastating,” Hebeish said.<\/p>\n
The police chief said there were 56 traffic fatalities in the city last year. As of April this year, there have been 22 fatalities so far.<\/p>\n
“I’ve seen children that have died behind unfortunate tragedies with vehicle collisions, and it’s heartbreaking,” Hebeish said.<\/p>\n
The renewed focus on enforcement follows several recent deadly incidents. On March 2, 2026, a three-year-old girl was killed when a driver, for some reason, backed up, jumped a curb and struck three people who were sitting on front steps. A month earlier, 54-year-old Lori Ann Carreon was killed while riding her bike.<\/p>\n
“It’s just a huge tragedy that we lost Lori Ann,” said Christianne Zah-Webber of Long Beach.<\/p>\n
Zah-Webber said additional safety measures are needed in the area.<\/p>\n
“It would be great if we had a traffic light here,” she said.<\/p>\n
Another resident, Edward Andrew Boswell, described concerns about the same location.<\/p>\n
“This particular intersection is simply an accident waiting to happen,” Boswell said.<\/p>\n
In addition to increased enforcement, Boswell said he would like to see speed bumps installed. He recalled a past crash he described as severe.<\/p>\n
“I remember a very terrible accident with someone in a rental Mustang blasting through at 90 miles an hour, and they totaled out the car and it was like an explosion,” Boswell said.<\/p>\n
Hebeish said preventing deaths requires awareness from everyone on the road.<\/p>\n
“Sometimes we forget that vehicles are extremely dangerous, and our bodies are not meant to collide with a vehicle. So paying attention to that; being aware of that,” he said.<\/p>\n
“If the pedestrian is aware of their surroundings, and the person behind the wheel is aware of where they’re driving, I think that can make us all safer.”<\/p>\n
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