By Kristin Grafft
Marc Gomez, a 22-year-old Norwalk resident was killed in a traffic collision involving another Norwalk resident and a 54-year-old Cerritos resident on the morning of Friday, September 6.
The accident occurred at 3:45 a.m. just before dawn in the intersection of Marquardt Ave. and Artesia Blvd.
Gomez was in the front passenger seat of a small Nissan heading south on Marquardt Ave. when, officials say, it appears the driver ran a red light and hit a Toyota pick-up truck that was heading east on Artesia Blvd.
The driver of the pick-up trick was a 54-year-old Cerritos resident on his way to work.
Detective Tim Britt of the LA County Sheriffs station in Cerritos said, “Both (Gomez) and the driver were severely injured and (Gomez) succumbed to his injuries… But the impact of this accident was so great I’m really surprised that the driver is even still alive.”
Gomez was taken by ambulance to the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where he later died, at around 10 a.m. that same day.
Detective Britt said they cannot release the names of the drivers because the investigation is still ongoing, and because, “their injuries were also very severe and there’s a good chance that they may still not make it as well.”
Officials are still awaiting toxicology reports on the driver of the Nissan. However, Detective Britt said that nothing “outwardly indicates he was under any influences, other than the way he was driving – running a red light.”
Officials are still unsure where the passengers of the Nissan were coming from at that hour, but Detective Britt indicated there is a possibility they were involved in another, but minor, accident in Norwalk that occurred not long before the collision.