Man on skateboard hit and killed by LAPD cruiser in Highland Park area, department confirms

HIGHLAND PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A major investigation is underway after a deadly crash involving a Los Angeles Police Department vehicle on Friday evening.

Investigators say a man on a skateboard was hit and killed by a police vehicle on Figueroa Street near Sycamore Grove Park in the Highland Park area in what they are calling a "tragic accident."

LAPD said the man on the skateboard was riding in the median in the middle of Figueroa Street, heading southbound, around 7 p.m. At the same time, an LAPD patrol vehicle with its lights and sirens on was heading northbound, also in the median as it passed traffic on the busy road.

"He did hit the guy who was riding his skateboard... they were going really fast," said witness Kayla.

LAPD said it doesn't know the exact speed just yet, but all of that is recorded. Police say they were not driving at an excessive speed.

The skateboarder, who police say is a man in his late-20s or early-30s, died on the street, right in front of a carnival that was happening at nearby Sycamore Grove Park.

"A lot of kids under the age of six, most of them, and their parents. There's kids everywhere, and then you could just hear a bunch of kids crying when you hear the crash happen, and then everybody's just yelling. It was all chaos," Kayla said.

The carnival, which was supposed to go until 10 p.m., was shut down early.

Police are still investigating the incident, but say it's not uncommon for officers with their lights and sirens on to use the median to pass traffic.

"When we do our code three driving, emergency lights and sirens, we usually pass on the left, because most of our traffic is going to be pulling over to the right. So it is common for us to pass around traffic to the left, to use center medians such as that to get around and traverse to get to that emergency," said Capt. Mike Bland with LAPD. "Although our officers are exempt from rules of the road when driving code three, we still have to drive with due care and caution, but that's all going to have to be part of this investigation to see exactly what happened."

Police have not released the identity of the man who was killed as they contact next-of-kin.

LAPD said the two officers who were in the patrol vehicle during the crash are very shaken up.