Off-duty LAPD officer killed in crash in Santa Clarita

An off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer was killed in a car crash early Saturday morning, authorities said. He was the only person involved in the crash.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department received a call about a vehicle fire at 2:15 a.m. and arrived at the site of the crash — Cinema Drive and Bouquet Canyon Road in Santa Clarita — at 2:22 a.m., a Fire Department spokesperson said.

A watch deputy at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said the driver crashed into a light pole and the vehicle was engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived. The cause of the crash is unknown.

Firefighters did not request an ambulance, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

While the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department was investigating the crash site early Saturday morning, a motorist drove through the crime scene and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a department spokesperson.

The timing of that arrest or any additional details about the driver were not immediately available.

A spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed the victim was an off-duty officer. His name was not immediately released.