LAPD Cruiser Hits and Kills Woman in Her 30s During Response to 'Shots Fired' Call at 300-Person Halloween Party

A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cruiser struck and killed a woman while its driver was responding to an emergency backup request connected to a Halloween party. Police had received a report of shots fired at the gathering, where approximately 300 people were present.

The collision happened at about 11.30pm on Saturday, 31 October, on Woodman Avenue near Bessemer Street in Valley Glen, miles from the party in Sherman Oaks. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the officer remained there after the collision.

Halloween Backup Request

The party was held at a house on Weddington Street, where officers encountered the large crowd after receiving the 'shots fired' call. The officer involved in the fatal collision was travelling to assist with an emergency backup request when the cruiser struck the pedestrian.

The gathering was eventually cleared, and nobody there was reported injured. The original report of gunfire prompted the initial call, but the available information does not establish that a shooting occurred.

Collision on Woodman Avenue

The cruiser was travelling along Woodman Avenue between Bessemer and Erwin streets with its lights and sirens operating when it hit the woman. The police vehicle belonged to LAPD's North Hollywood Station, and the collision was placed in the 6100 block of Woodman Avenue.

The fatal collision occurred during the journey to provide backup, rather than at the gathering itself. The initial reports did not establish whether the woman had attended the party or had any connection to the incident prompting the response.

Emergency Call and Collision

The original emergency was variously described as a shots-fired call, a disturbance or a fight involving a large group. The dispatch timeline remains unclear, including whether those descriptions refer to separate calls or differing accounts of the same incident.

An LAPD spokesperson said the cruiser was travelling along Woodman Avenue with its lights and sirens on when it struck the woman. KTLA reported that the pedestrian was outside a marked crosswalk and that the collision happened near Bessemer Street at about 11.30pm on Saturday.

Woman's Age Unconfirmed

The woman had not been publicly identified following the collision. Reports gave her age as either 32 or 33, a discrepancy that remained unresolved as police investigated her death.

A witness described hearing a thud before seeing the pedestrian lying on the ground after the collision. The account did not describe the moment of impact or the woman's movements immediately before she was struck.

Rainy conditions were reported around the time of the crash, although their possible role remained unclear. The available information did not establish whether weather or visibility contributed to the collision.

Investigation Continues

The collision remained under investigation, with no detailed reconstruction of the events leading to the impact available in the reporting reviewed. The cruiser's speed, any braking or evasive action, and the point at which the officer first saw the pedestrian were not specified.

The reports also did not say whether investigators had reviewed footage from the police vehicle or other cameras near the scene. No finding of fault was identified, and the precise circumstances of the woman's death remained unresolved.