Off-duty LAPD officer dies on his way home from work in 210 Freeway crash

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer was killed on his way home from work early Saturday when the car he was driving collided with the back of a stalled semi truck on the 210 Freeway in Baldwin Park, police said.

Officer Baldemar Sandoval was driving his 2018 Honda around 2:30 a.m. when the accident occurred, police said. The truck was stalled in an eastbound lane of the freeway near Barranca Avenue, according to a news release from California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the truck, who had stopped while authorities investigated another collision ahead of him, had switched on the truck’s hazard lights, according to CHP. The truck driver was not injured.

LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore identified Sandoval in a tweet Saturday morning, and said the department was grieving “our loss of a peacemaker.” Sandoval was 38 and worked in the police department’s Central Division.

“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 said in a statement. “I send my deepest condolences to his family, loved ones and friends as we mourn this tragedy.”