One dead, two injured in multi-vehicle crash on Rosecrans Avenue in Norwalk

By The Southbound 105 NORWALK — A man was killed and two women were injured early Tuesday in a multi-vehicle crash on Rosecrans Avenue that involved about 16 vehicles, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, as reported by Los Cerritos Community News. The crash occurred around 1 a.m. Sept. 1, 2026, on Rosecrans Avenue between Studebaker Road and Pioneer Boulevard, Los Cerritos Community News reported, citing the Sheriff’s Department. Deputies closed Rosecrans between Harvest and Crosdale avenues, just south of Norwalk High School, while investigators worked the scene. Norwalk Sheriff’s Station Capt. Omar Camacho said preliminary information indicated one vehicle initially overturned and may have struck several parked vehicles, triggering a chain-reaction crash involving other vehicles. “It appears the first vehicle might have struck multiple parked vehicles, which then caused a chain reaction for the other vehicles to be involved in the traffic collision,” Camacho said, according to Los Cerritos Community News. Camacho said about 16 vehicles were involved altogether — five moving vehicles and approximately 10 or 11 parked cars, the newspaper reported. The man killed was an adult whose name authorities had not released. Two adult women suffered minor injuries; one was taken to a hospital and the other left on her own. No arrests had been made. Investigators had not determined who was driving each vehicle or exactly how the crash unfolded, Camacho said. They also had not determined whether alcohol or drugs played a role. Early reports suggested possible street racing, but Camacho cautioned against that conclusion and said there was no evidence of street racing at the time, Los Cerritos Community News reported. “I just want to clarify that there was possible information that this was a street racing incident, and there’s no evidence of that at this time,” Camacho said. “Speed may be a factor, but we can’t determine.” Camacho said deputies received no calls or other information indicating a street takeover was occurring when the crash happened, though deputies have previously responded to complaints about speeding along that stretch of Rosecrans, the newspaper reported. Residents described being jolted awake shortly before 1 a.m. Israel Alarcon, who lives along Rosecrans with his parents and brothers, said both his car and his father’s car were among the parked vehicles struck. “We came out here and the crash had already happened, and then there were a bunch of cars that had been hit,” Alarcon said, according to Los Cerritos Community News. Alarcon said he encountered a woman who appeared to have been driving one of the vehicles and was screaming that her friend had been hurt. “She just said, ‘I don’t know what happened,” Alarcon recalled. ‘They crashed and then I was behind them.’” Alarcon said he did not know whether any of the drivers had been racing. Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he ran toward a man who apparently had been thrown from a vehicle, stepping over broken glass in the darkness, and that someone already beside the victim indicated the man had died, Los Cerritos Community News reported. Bryan Arellanes, who also lives along that stretch of Rosecrans, said his father’s truck was badly damaged. “If you see my dad’s truck, the whole front wheel is caved in,” Arellanes said. “It’s just crazy, honestly.” The roadway remained closed for hours as investigators photographed and documented the wreckage and waited for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Camacho said investigators would review doorbell cameras and other available recordings as they work to determine what caused the crash. “I want to give you guys factual information,” Camacho said. “That’s really what we have right now.” --- Sources: - Los Cerritos Community News (Vincent Medina): https://www.loscerritosnews.net/2026/09/01/one-dead-two-injured-after-crash-involving-about-16-vehicles-in-norwalk/