Driver killed when his car slams into a church in South Los Angeles

A driver was killed and his passenger injured when his SUV slammed into a church in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The crash took place shortly after midnight Saturday morning, when the driver — a man in his 40s — was heading west on Manchester Avenue, according to Norma Eisenman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The vehicle struck a light pole and then the building, causing the driver to be ejected, Eisenman said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his injured passenger was taken to a hospital, she said.

The collision caused major damage to Challenge of Faith Church of God in Christ, on Manchester just west of Central Avenue. Building inspectors have yellow-tagged the church, designating part of the structure as off limits, according to one city official.

David Jessie, an assistant pastor at the church, told KTLA-TV that cars have crashed into the church before — a situation he attributed to dangerous road conditions on Manchester. Church leaders have previously asked city leaders to do something about a nearby dip in the road, he said.

“We have been through this so many times,� he told the station.

An aide to Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price, who represents the area, said her office received a complaint from the church in August 2022 about the condition of the street. Weeks later, the city resurfaced a stretch of Manchester between Central Avenue and Broadway, said Angelina Valencia-Dumarot, the Price aide.

Price, after learning about the latest crash, plans to contact the city’s Bureau of Street Street Services about making additional fixes to the roadway, Valencia-Dumarot said.