Police detained a man who fled the scene of a four car incident at the intersection of Beach Drive and Bellflower Boulevard Monday evening. The collision left debris strewn across the intersection and the wrecked vehicles restricted southbound traffic along Bellflower Boulevard.
The Long Beach Police Department responded to a call made at 8:40. The LBPD said it was a hit-and-run incident.
Sgt. Roger Trias of the Long Beach Police Department confirmed that there were minor injuries but no fatalities. Two people involved were transferred to the hospital to treat their injuries.
One male suspect, who was said to have been the person trying to flee the scene, was detained near Atherton Street.
Witnesses said they heard one of the people involved in the crash yell that someone was trying to abduct his wife.
When asked about the report that the person who ran yelled about the possibility of his wife being abducted Trias said, “We cannot confirm that at this time.”
Long Beach City College student Evelyn LeMaster was headed north on Bellflower Boulevard when her vehicle was struck and damaged by a car part detached during the accident.
“When I started slowing down these cars started going and that’s when I heard ‘crunch’ and ‘screech’…[and] when I slammed on the brakes all of a sudden I felt… the impact of the [tire rim] hitting my car,” she said.
LeMaster’s vehicle’s left headlight was damaged and her airbag deployed during the accident.
Among the witnesses was Luke Mattew, a first year biology major, who arrived at the scene with his friend around 8:40 p.m. He said he was there in time to see the person who fled the scene.
“We were at Hillside, so right when we heard the crash we ran over here,” Mattew said.
Debris was flung as far as the CSULB side of the intersection, with a detached tire sitting next to a light pole around 50 feet from the accident.
Mattew said he and his friend had assisted in clearing some of the debris up.
Perry Continente, opinions editor, contributed to this story.
This article was previously published with inaccurate information. It was corrected Aug. 27 at 8:52 a.m.
