LAPD Officer Darrell D. Cunningham and a passenger were killed in a two-car crash in Northridge Saturday morning, Nov. 4. (Courtesy of Los Angeles Police Department)
An off-duty Los Angeles police officer and his front-seat passenger were killed in a crash caused by a drunken driver who hit speeds of up to 100 mph in Northridge early Saturday morning, authorities said.
The 20-year-old driver also was suspected of running a red light when he crashed into the officer’s car, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said at a news conference.
The officer was identified as Darrell Cunningham, a five-year veteran of the force who worked out of the West Los Angeles Station. He is survived by a fiancee and two sons, ages 6 and 3.
The driver, Brian David Oliveri, will be arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter following treatment at a hospital, Moore said.
Both the officer and his passenger were pronounced dead at the scene.
Flowers lay near a crash site in the Northridge section of Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 where a Los Angeles police officer was killed in a collision early Saturday morning involving a man suspected of driving under the influence. Officer Darrell Cunningham, one of the drivers involved in the collision, and another person riding with Cunningham in the passenger seat were killed after a 20-year-old man, driving at more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour, failed to stop at a red light and struck the car, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said at a press conference. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Los Angeles firefighters work the scene of a two-car crash that killed an off-duty LAPD officer and injured a passenger in Northridge Saturday morning, Nov. 4. (OnSceneTV)
LAPD Officer Darrell D. Cunningham and a passenger were killed in a two-car crash in Northridge Saturday morning, Nov. 4. (Courtesy of Los Angeles Police Department)
Debris and damage to an apartment is seen where a crash occurred at an intersection in the Northridge section of Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 where a Los Angeles police officer was killed in a collision early Saturday morning involving a man suspected of driving under the influence. Officer Darrell Cunningham, one of the drivers involved in the collision, and another person riding with Cunningham in the passenger seat were killed after a 20-year-old man, driving at more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour, failed to stop at a red light and struck the car, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said at a press conference. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A pedestrian glances over to an apartment where a crash occurred in the Northridge section of Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 where a Los Angeles police officer was killed in a collision early Saturday morning involving a man suspected of driving under the influence. Officer Darrell Cunningham, one of the drivers involved in the collision, and another person riding with Cunningham in the passenger seat were killed after a 20-year-old man, driving at more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour, failed to stop at a red light and struck the car, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said at a press conference. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A man checks the damage to several parked cars in the Northridge section of Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 where a Los Angeles police officer was killed in a vehicle collision early Saturday morning involving a man suspected of driving under the influence. Officer Darrell Cunningham, one of the drivers involved in the collision, and another person riding with Cunningham in the passenger seat were killed after a 20-year-old man, driving at more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour, failed to stop at a red light and struck the car, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
The two-vehicle crash occurred about 1:15 a.m. at Roscoe Boulevard and Lindley Avenue, Moore said. Investigators believe Cunningham was driving a white Infiniti northbound on Lindley on a green light through Roscoe Boulevard when Oliveri’s black BMW sedan ran a red light going westbound and slammed into the passenger side of Cunningham’s car in excess of 100 mph.
Firefighters arrived to find one car against a building, a sheared fire hydrant and three occupants in at least serious condition, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said. The three injured were taken to hospitals.
“He worked as recently as two nights ago,” Moore said of Cunningham. “He’s described as hard-working, honest, a person you could rely on to get the job done and with a great attitude.
“As a department, we’re grieving today,” he continued. “We’ll work through this, we’ll hold the line and work in tribute to the reputation he held and the work that he did in protecting the citizens of this great city.”
Moore later authorized the wearing of black mourning bands in Cunningham’s honor.
Cunningham’s passenger was not immediately identified.
One of the three injured was an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy who was in Cunningham’s car, Moore said, adding that the three in Cunningham’s car were described as life-long friends. The deputy suffered a broken hip and other serious injuries.
Oliveri was hospitalized and was unconscious in the hospital at the time of the 10 a.m. news conference, Moore said. A woman in the passenger seat of his car was able to get out of the car on her own after the crash and was also hospitalized with serious injuries.
Oliveri and the San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy were trapped in their cars and needed to be extricated, Moore said.
This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.
