In La Puente, Calif. auto collisions are a prevalent issue, especially the streets of Temple and Azusa, increasing the danger of driving around the area. From 2021 to 2022, there was a 2% decrease in the number of car accidents in California from 4,513 to 4,428 according to the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTC). Despite this change, there is an average of 3,700 people that die from car accidents yearly in California.

The high frequency of accidents in the area is mainly due to speeding, as there are very few traffic lights, which influences people to drive faster causing fear in surrounding drivers as expressed by senior Yahir Meza, who lives in the area. 

“Turning right it’s pretty scary ‘cause you can’t see that much, like what’s on your left… I think it’s more because I have memories even as a little kid you know, seeing car crashes over there,” Meza said. 

A recent accident occurred Jan. 14, where three young men were killed as a result of an impaired driver speeding through and running a red light, according to local daily newspaper San Gabriel Valley Tribune. The three men who drove a Nissan Versa, two identified as Josue de Leon Villegas and Carlos Cardona, were in their early 20’s and died almost instantly. The driver who ran the red light, 24-year-old Yasmin Flores Magana driving a Jeep Wrangler, was taken to the hospital for treatment after pain complaints. The accident happened at such high speed that it caused a striking noise that woke neighbors, as it happened at night. 

“The most recent one was I think the one with the Jeep, I think three people died. It’s tragic I heard it from my house, it was like past midnight,” Meza said. 

In 2023, 20-year-old Samantha Rodriguez was killed in an accident on Temple, according to an Instagram post from @lapuente626sgv. The accident occurred Oct. 13, 2023, and since then, there have been photos and decorations at the crash site in her memory. 

Along with the fatal accident in which Rodriguez was killed, on Feb. 15, Manuel Leyva, a 25-year-old La Puente resident, was killed at night in the westbound lanes of Temple Avenue according to SGV City Watch, a news outlet in the San Gabriel Valley. The accident, a hit and run, involved a Kia and a 2016 Yamaha R6 motorcycle, operated by Leyva.

These frequent car accidents are not only a safety hazard for drivers in the area, but also to neighbors as it puts their homes in danger. With more than 25 years residing in La Puente neighbor Hector Gonzalez acknowledges that the amount of car accidents in the area is excessive and disruptive to their home.

“It’s terrible. Really terrible and a lot of noise. At night one can’t sleep sometimes because of the noise and the police and ambulance sirens,” Gonzalez said. 

About 20 years ago, Gonzalez witnessed a fatal accident that left two young men dead in his backyard after colliding with the brick wall surrounding his house. 

“In my house, my yard, two people died, two kids. They came home from school from Workman and they died. One died right away and the other died about half an hour later. They crashed and one body was left in my . They crashed into a tree and the crash threw a body to my house,” Gonzalez said. 

Although many car accidents occur due to impaired driving, the streets Temple and Azusa are subject to high velocity driving, many times people race along those streets. As a result, local residents believe that the only way to prevent the crashes is by more precautious driving and city regulations. 

“I think more traffic lights. For example, the most indicated is to put a traffic light here and also speed control by the police,” Gonzalez said.