The Antelope Valley Times

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Edison worker struck, killed by car in Lancaster [updated]

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The fatality occurred about 11:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at 20th Street East and Avenue K in Lancaster. [Photo by LUIS MEZA]
The fatality occurred about 11:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at 20th Street East and Avenue K in Lancaster. [Photo by LUIS MEZA]
The worker was on the ground near an Edison pole when he was struck, SCE officials said. [LUIS MEZA]
The worker was on the ground near an Edison pole when he was struck, SCE officials said. [LUIS MEZA]
LANCASTER – A Southern California Edison worker was struck and killed by a vehicle Friday in Lancaster, authorities said.

The fatality occurred about 11:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at 20th Street East and Avenue K, according to Sgt. Jeffrey Rhea of the sheriff’s Lancaster Station.

The worker, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the vehicle that struck him was taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The driver of the vehicle that struck him was taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. [LUIS MEZA]
The driver of the vehicle that struck him was taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. [LUIS MEZA]
The worker was an Antelope Valley-based “troubleman,” or first-responder, and was working on the ground near an Edison pole when he was struck, according to utility spokeswoman Susan Cox.

“Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to his family and friends,” Cox said.

UPDATE:

The collision actually occurred on Avenue K west of 20th Street East, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

“Preliminary information gathered at the scene revealed the Southern California Edison [worker] was working on a power box when a black BMW 740 left the roadway while traveling west on Avenue K.  Avenue K is a three-lane road for westbound traffic with a posted speed limit of 50mph at the collision scene,” the sheriff’s news release states.

“According to witnesses, the BMW [driver] was driving at an unknown high speed when the collision occurred… [and] had to be rescued from the vehicle by the Los Angeles County Fire Department,” the news release states.

The BMW driver, a male, was in critical condition as of 4 p.m., sheriff’s officials said in the news release.

Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to contact traffic investigators at Lancaster Sheriff’s Station at 661-948-8466.

UPDATED 10.2.16: The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old Gerald Smith of Quartz Hill, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

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Filed Under: Lancaster

40 comments for "Edison worker struck, killed by car in Lancaster [updated]"

  1. My dad knew him he works at the Edison company it’s a dangerous job bless him he’s with god his creator now he will be loved for eternity

    • what a stupid statement! The problem with any studies on car accidents and POT is it stays in a persons system way longer after you ingest it. so you could of smoked it last week and its still in your system. now alcohol is the fourth leading cause of death in the US. 75,000 deaths a year, and it kills more people coming down off it then all the other drugs combined! what about all the people who abuse prescription drugs? people from all walks of life. I know plenty of pill poppers. So POT is not what we need to be worried about.

    • Your username says it all.
      You’re clearly poorly informed.
      Where do you see anything about POT in this article? Nowhere. Yeah, you’re a moron.

  3. Mr. Smith and his extended family are some of the most generous, hard working and truly good people it has been my privilege to know. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

  4. The person killed graduated from Desert High School (Edwards AFB) in 1978. Friends and fellow classmates are remembering him on Facebook.

    • Just wait until your [removed] gets a speeding ticket amd tries to fight it in court. Then lets see if you’ll wish they’ll give more tickets. Loke that will save people from gettimg killed. Dumb ass

  6. Charges should be forthcoming, reckless driving is illegal
    and there should be consequences. If this guy was not driving like a fool
    as they “all” do this would not have happened.

    • Stop jumping into conclusions u don’t know what really happened if anything I’m pretty sure your a wreakless driver your self

      • Stop running to defend your friend. I have seen this bmw driver many times driving like a pos. If he would have slowed down and drove at the posted speed limit this may have never happened. God only knows why this happened. And im praying forthe family and pray they may find peace in this great loss. Prayers to the drivers family aswell.

        • Typical trump supporter. Driver had a seizure thats why driver loat controls. Now what do u have to say. Can’t wait til Hilary blows trump out of the sky.

          • I’m sure they weren’t pinatas. Trump head pinatas are on a three week back order. Kinda surprising considering that when you bust them open it isn’t candy that spews out.

          • We sure have a lot of young drivers having seizures. How many hold medical marijuana cards that say for seizures? How many have been diagnosed by more than doctor?

          • I believe this comment because I was outside at the time when this occurred, the young man never hit brakes just a large bang.

  7. that street seems to bring only tragedy- lost my son on avenue K two years ago – our condolences to the family… RIP

    • So sorry for your loss. Sending a prayer for you of comfort. We live near this intersection and have seen far too many accidents like this due to reckless driving. Hopefully something can be done to prevent future tragedies like this.

  8. The man that was killed was a great guy, he was a husband, father, uncle, grandfather and friend. His family has suffered a great loss. It’s heartbreaking.

    • I never met him in person , but i spent 6 years of my life as one of the guys calling him out to work at all hours of the night , and spoke to him so many times on the phone . Truly a great man and was very dedicated to his trade and he will be missed . such a tragic loss for everyone

  10. The man who died was my daughters best friends father in law. Very sad for the family. Offering up prayers for peace while they cope with this horrible tragedy.

  13. Reality: We all know he was coming from East K from the fields. He was driving a Beamer, he is young, my summation. He was Speed Racer Jr and killed a innocent man who was just doing his job. I drive Ave k once a week from the onions fields and it’s all too common to see someone doing easily 70 +. The say he’s in critical condition, and I hope Karma prevails. Being a member of an electrical union, this hits close to home.

    • your an [removed] and you dont know a dam thing about the situation or the man who was driving what do you mean by he was coming from the onion fields sounding a little racist.

      • Well it seems you don’t know the geographics in Lancaster. From 30th st towards 90th st are fields that are harvesting onions and alfalfa. What is racist about onion fields. the driver was Black not Hispanic, and I can tell you beyond a reasonable doubt, “Speed Racer” didn’t work the onion fields

        • I kinda guessed from the late model BMW that he wasn’t coming from working the onion fields.

  14. This happened right in front of my house. May this man rest in peace. It was heart breaking watching the family gather. All this because someone can’t slow down. i have seen this guy in the bmw before speeding and cut me off. Now he hopefully learns his lesson. Praying for both families.

  15. This kind gentleman was my brother’s good friend and co-worker. It’s just such a shock Please send up your prayers for his family, friends and co-workers. Hug your loved ones and let them know you love them. Don’t take for granted that they will be there tomorrow.

  16. Just from the pictures it looks like someone lost control of their car, went sailing off the road, and just happened to go off right where this guy was working. If that’s what happened the level of bad luck involved is astounding.

    • Your always ready to offer your lame reasonings and contribute nothing. I’m sure you’ll have something well rehearsed to come back with but non the less your your reasoning is always pointless.

        • Sad. What kind of a sicko would post the stuff Tim S. did. Have some respect and decency for goodness sake. Jeez.

        • Some people just want to figure out how accidents happen from a physics perspective to improve their own defensive driving. A question for Scott. How could this car end up on the opposite side of the pole, facing the wrong direction? An Eastbound car would have had a better chance of landing like this. Something extraordinary happened in this impact that the worker didn’t have a chance to second guess.

          • It seems like he wasn’t even in the road, so he probably never had a chance at a first guess.

            The way the door is hanging it looks like the car took a side impact. Did it slide sideways into the pole?

            This whole thing is just really weird. Just happening to be in the path of a crashing car is tragic bad luck, no matter how you cut it.