Officer Released After Fatal LAPD Crash in Beverly Hills

The injured officer asked that attention be placed on remembering Training Officer Nicholas Choung Lee, 40, who was killed in the crash

A female probationary officer injured in a Beverly Hills crash that killed a Los Angeles Police Department veteran was released from the hospital Saturday evening.

The rookie officer  was listed in stable condition on Saturday morning, officials said. She was alert and in considerable pain after the crash Friday, according to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

Colleagues said the officer was up and walking about her hospital room.

The injured officer's name has not been released. She is in her 20s and graduated from the police academy four years ago.

As she was being treated at Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills on Saturday, she asked that the attention be placed on remembering Training Officer Nicholas Choung Lee, 40, who was killed in the crash.

The two officers were responding to a call when their patrol vehicle collided with a dump truck at Loma Vista Driver near Doheny Road. Officials said it appeared the truck’s brakes failed before the crash.

On Saturday, Mayor Eric Garcetti called for a moment of silence during his opening remarks at the California Democrats State Convention in downtown Los Angeles.

Local

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

Spring storm to bring rain, wind and snow. See the Southern California weekend forecast

Shohei, sunshine and spring baseball. Scenes from the 2024 home-opener at Dodger Stadium

Garcetti said he became friends with Lee while serving on the City Council.

“He was just a man with a big heart, with a great mind and was a heck of a police officer,” Garcetti told NBC4.

Outside the LAPD's Hollywood Division station where Lee served for more than a decade, the U.S. flag was flown at half-staff, and inside there were more tributes for the fallen officer.

Condolences poured in on Friday for the 16-year veteran.

“On behalf of the California Department of Justice, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Officer Nicholas Lee," said California Attorney General Kamala Harris . "His death is a grave loss for the dedicated men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department and the whole of California’s law enforcement community. Our thoughts are also with the officer who was critically injured alongside Officer Lee." 

Contact Us