Deadly Trucks Exceeded Weight Limit on Steep Beverly Hills Road

The steep and winding Beverly Hills road Loma Vista Drive is not meant to handle vehicles as heavy as the trucks involved in at least two fatal wrecks

As colleagues and family members mourn the loss of two LAPD officers killed in crashes on a steep Beverly Hills road, residents are angry as the street's heavy traffic may be in clear violation of city rules.

Los Angeles Police Detective Ernest Allen was killed in a crash on Loma Vista Drive with a cement truck May 9, and Officer Nicholas Lee died in a wreck with a dump truck on the same street in March.

The steep and winding Beverly Hills road is not meant to handle vehicles heavier than 6,000 pounds or longer than 21 feet, according to a city ordinance dating back to 2009.

The ordinance also prohibits the parking of oversized vehicles in residential areas.

"I have been on that road many times. We have friends living up there, and it was very dangerous," said Henry Koffman, civil engineering professor at USC. "I will tell you the truth. Going down the hill, I get really nervous and ride my brakes all the time."

Individual municipalities set the rules for their local streets and can hand out special permits to allow oversized loads, Koffman said.

Cement trucks like the ones that lost control on Loma Vista Drive are well over the limit permitted by the city, and many standard SUVs are nearing the limit.

An empty 2015 GMC Yukon Denali and 2014 Ford Expedition both weigh more than 5,500 pounds.

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Following the most recent fatal incident, police patrols to enforce weight restrictions have been increased, warning signs have been set up, and a 30-day moratorium was issued for heavy hauling deliveries.

City officials did not return calls from NBC4 for specific examples of how they plan to make the street safer in the future.

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