Los Angeles, Ca
Helicopter landing shuts down traffic on 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles
Freeway lanes were shut down after a helicopter made an emergency landing in South Los Angeles Thursday night.
The helicopter touched down on the southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway, just north of the 105 Freeway interchange at around 8:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
Three people, including the pilot, were aboard the small chopper when it made the emergency landing. They were able to exit the aircraft without injuries, authorities said.
The aircraft, a 2011 Robinson R44 II, took off from the Hawthorne Airport at 7:35 p.m.
The pilot, Bruce Kafil, told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo he was taking a couple on an aerial tour of the city when they suddenly experienced power loss.
“I instructed my passengers to get out right away because I feared a possible collision from oncoming traffic,” Kafil recalled. “I had [the couple] go as far south as we reasonably could but the main rotor blade was still spinning and it made contact with a bus.”
A SigAlert that shut down all southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway was later lifted.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene and worked to remove the downed helicopter. At least one of the helicopter’s blades appeared damaged.
Crews were seen lifting the chopper with a crane and placing it onto the flatbed of a tow truck.
“There were motorists on the road at the time of the incident,” said CHP officer Bobby Eurin. “Officers did respond swiftly to stop traffic to avoid a major injury collision. It’s not every day that you see a helicopter land on the freeway.”
“We landed safely,” Kafil said with relief. “Everybody walked away. I’m very happy to be alive and to have my passengers as well.”
No injuries were reported from the incident. Traffic was backed up for miles as authorities worked to clear the scene.
Los Angeles, Ca
Hollywood Bowl power outage forces concert cancellation
A power outage at the Hollywood Bowl forced officials at the iconic venue to cancel Sunday night’s concert.
Vance Joy, Grouplove and Tiny Habits were slated to perform this evening, according to The Bowl’s calendar.
“If a new date for this performance can be confirmed, details will follow and tickets for the original date will be valid for the new performance date,” officials at the Hollywood Bowl said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
“This is such a bummer,” Grouplove posted their Instagram stories. “We wish we could turn the lights on.”
Those with questions or interested in refunds or exchanges were encouraged to contact Audience Services at information@laphil.org.
No information about what exactly caused the outage was provided. It is also unclear how long it will take to restore power to the iconic venue.
Los Angeles, Ca
Culver City Police Department warning residents of uptick in online rental scams
Investigators with the Culver City Police Department are looking into a string of online rental scams that occurred in the city for over a month.
According to a CCPD press release issued Sunday morning, detectives were alerted of multiple reports of rental scams between July 4 and Aug. 27 of this year, many of which were “initiated on social media.”
“In each instance, a victim responded to a Facebook ad for an apartment rental,” police stated. “They agreed to meet the ‘seller’ at a location in Culver City, where they would exchange cash and a rental agreement.”
After this interaction, the victim would attempt to enter the rental unit, only to find that the keys did not open the door. When the victim reached out to the suspect, they would no longer respond to messages, investigators said.
Authorities say suspects use multiple methods to dupe individuals into agreeing to a fake rental, including phantom listings of locations that don’t exist or are unavailable, fake virtual tours that may be pre-recorded and advertisement manipulation replicating genuine listings.
To avoid becoming a victim of an online rental scam, CCPD recommended the following steps:
- Verify contact details: Cross-check contact information in the listing with trustworthy sources
- Avoid personal servers: Do not engage with anyone requesting the use of a personal server for communication
- In-person inquiries: Ask questions about the property in person, rather than via email or online if possible
- Be cautions with payment requests: A reputable landlord won’t ask for payment before meeting you face-to-face or showing you the property in person
- Utilize professionals: If renting a property prior to seeing it, consider working with a licensed real estate broker or a trusted property management company
- Research Listings: Repeat advertisements – the same listing under a different name – could indicate a potential scam
Police released descriptions of three suspects, two women and a man. No description for one of the women was immediately available; however, one of the suspects was described as a 20- to 30-year-old Hispanic woman with a heavy build and red hair who was seen wearing a pink jacket with lettering and gray shorts.
The third suspect was described by police as a Black man between the ages of 20 and 30.
Anyone with information surrounding the online rental scams is asked to contact Culver City Police Department Public Information Officer Jennifer Atenza by calling 310-253-6120 or emailing jennifer.atenza@culvercity.org
Individuals can also call the CCPD Watch Commander at 310-253-6202.
Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California theft suspect arrested with truck full of stolen merchandise
A suspect was arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from Southern California stores.
Earlier this week, police officers responded to a Target store in Chino after security reported an ongoing theft.
The male suspect had loaded a shopping cart filled with merchandise and left the store without paying, officers said.
The suspect loaded the stolen goods into a U-Haul truck and fled the area. Police later spotted the truck on the 60 Freeway and pulled the driver over.
Inside the box truck, over $1,500 worth of stolen merchandise was found. Police said the suspect, identified only as a Gardena resident, was allegedly responsible for over $33,000 worth of retail thefts in other neighborhoods.
During the arrest, police also found fentanyl inside his vehicle.
The suspect was taken into custody on charges of grand theft, four outstanding warrants for theft and narcotics, and possession of fentanyl.
His identity was not released as the case remains under investigation.
Footage of the theft can be seen in the video player above.
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