GLENDORA, Calif.—Funeral services were pending Sunday for an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who died when his 2018 Honda rear-ended a big rig on the Foothill (210) Freeway in Glendora.
The crash occurred about 2:30 a.m. Saturday on the eastbound freeway, west of Grand Avenue, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported.
The officer was identified as Baldemar Sandoval, who worked out of the department’s Central Division, according to Police Chief Michel Moore.
Officer Baldemar Sandoval. (Courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department)“With great sadness, I share that earlier this morning a police officer on his way home from work was involved in a traffic collision on the 210 Freeway,” Moore wrote on Twitter. “I send my deepest condolences to his family, loved ones and friends as we mourn this tragedy.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Officer Sandoval, his Central Area family and the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department during this difficult time. May God welcome Baldemar home.”
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division could not be reached to determine Sandoval’s tenure with the police department.
The driver of a 2019 Freightliner had stopped in the number 3 lane due to a collision investigation ahead of him and the big rig became disabled in that lane when the eastbound lanes were reopened, according to investigating CHP Officer J. Pena. The emergency hazard lights were flashing at the time of the crash.
Sandoval was a 38-year-old Rancho Cucamonga resident, Pena said. He was the sole occupant of the Honda.
The big rig driver, a 51-year-old Highland resident, suffered minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital by paramedics, Pena said.