Off-duty LA County deputy killed in Long Beach motorcycle crash

An off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy died after a motorcycle crash in Long Beach over the weekend.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic loss of Deputy Martin Maciel, a ten-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and an Army Reservist, who passed away as a result of an off-duty traffic collision this past weekend," the department wrote in a post on X. 

The Long Beach Police Department said the deadly crash happened on Saturday just after 11 p.m., near the intersection of East 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway.

Officers said they found Maciel, the motorcyclist, lying in the roadway when they arrived. Officers and Long Beach Fire Department personnel tried to treat him, but he was pronounced dead shortly after. 

Investigators said Maciel was traveling southbound on Pacific Coast Highway when he collided with a car at the intersection with East 2nd Street. The other driver stayed at the scene, according to LBPD. Detectives believe speed was a contributing factor in the deadly crash, but did not specify which party may have been speeding. 

LASD said Maciel joined the department in 2016 and joined its Norwalk station in 2019, where he worked as a motorcycle deputy.

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, said Maciel helped "thwart a potential school shooting in South Whittier" just days after the Parkland high school shooting in 2018.

"His work that day and on so many other occasions saved lives and made our communities safer," Hahn said. "Martin's loss is heartbreaking, and he will be deeply missed by the neighborhoods he served and the colleagues who stood beside him."