1 dead after car crashes off Long Beach bridge into Cerritos Channel

A man was killed early Wednesday morning when a pickup truck crashed off a Long Beach bridge and into the water below, according to police. 

In a news release from the Long Beach Police Department, officers said they were called to Studebaker Road and Loynes Drive, on the bridge above the Cerritos Channel, at around 4:20 a.m. for reports of a crash involving a vehicle in the water. 

"The driver and the passenger were rescued from the water," police said.

Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where the man driving the pickup truck, only identified as a 72-year-old resident of Grover Beach, later succumbed to his injuries. 

The female adult passenger, who hasn't been publicly identified, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Based on their preliminary investigation, police said that a 2016 Toyota Tundra was driving north on Studebaker Road when, for unknown reasons, it collided with the south guard railing of the bridge and fell into the water. 

"Speed and distracted driving may have been a contributing factor in this collision," police said. 

LBPD officers told CBS LA that the woman was initially able to get out of the car on her own, and that she waved down first responders as they arrived. Long Beach Fire Department personnel found that the man was ejected from the car during the crash. 

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who may know more was urged to contact LBPD's Collision Investigation Detail Detective D. Dougherty at 562-570-7355.