Alhambra Officer, 26, Killed in Crash With Colleague

Funeral arrangements are pending for the three-year member of the department

An officer killed early Sunday in a crash that involved two squad cars was identified as 26-year-old Ryan Stringer.

Stringer was a three-year veteran of the Alhambra Police Department. He was killed when his  2006 Ford Crown Victoria collided with another patrol car, a 2007 Dodge Charger  driven by 27-year-old Officer Juan Carlos Mejia.

The officers were responding to a robbery.

Colleagues wore black armbands Sunday in memory of Stringer. He is the fourth Alhambra officer to die in the line of duty.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Flowers were delivered to  Alhambra police headquarters at 211 South First  Street, said Sgt. Kean Oda.

The California Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash,  reported that Stringer was driving a westbound on Main Street approaching  Garfield while Mejia was northbound on Garfield approaching the same  intersection when the collision occurred. Authorities did not immediately  provide details on the robbery report.

Both officers were taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Mejia was reported to be in stable condition.

"As officers work to get to the scene as quickly as possible, these types of dangers exist," said Chief Mark Yokoyama. "It's going to be a long recovery for us, emotionally."

Stringer was involved in a motorcycle crash on the 605 Freeway about a year ago. He suffered moderate injuries and head trauma when he crashed into a big rig.

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