A late-night crash that sent a car straight into a Bixby Knolls coffee shop is drawing renewed attention to a deadly trend on Long Beach streets — traffic violence now claiming more lives than homicide.
Surveillance video captured the moment a Tesla veered off Atlantic Avenue and slammed into the front of Sala Coffee and Wine Monday night. The crash is still under investigation. The impact left the storefront damaged and forced the locally owned business to temporarily shut down. No one was injured and the owners say the outcome could have been catastrophic.
“It turned our world upside down in a matter of minutes,” said co-owner Derrick Montiel. “A car ran straight into the building.”
Montiel and co-owner Brandee Raygosa say the crash is a major setback for the small business, which had just been gaining momentum. Friends have launched a GoFundMe to help cover repair costs and lost income, while other city coffee shops and customers have rallied to support them.
But for many in Bixby Knolls, the crash wasn’t a surprise.
Residents say Atlantic Avenue has long been plagued by speeding drivers and frequent collisions. Raygosa said this was the third crash to occur directly in front of their storefront, underscoring what neighbors describe as a persistent danger for pedestrians, cyclists, and businesses alike.
“It needs to be looked at by the city council and the police department,” said neighbor Rashid Osheltree.
New city data paints a grim picture. Long Beach ranks as California’s eighth-deadliest city for traffic crashes. Between July 2024 and July 2025, the city recorded 215 crashes involving pedestrians, including 13 deaths where people were struck in crosswalks. In total, 32 people walking, biking, or riding e-scooters were killed in 2025 — more than the 29 homicides reported during the same time period.
City officials say they’ve taken steps to improve safety, including adding bike lanes and crosswalks and planning to install speed cameras. However, citations from those cameras are not expected to begin until late 2026, a timeline that frustrates residents who say lives are being lost now.
A decade ago, Long Beach set a goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2026. Instead, last year marked the highest number of traffic-related fatalities in the city in ten years.
For business owners like Montiel and Raygosa, and for neighbors who walk Atlantic Avenue every day, the message is clear: change can’t wait.
“We shouldn’t have to wait for these tragedies to keep happening,” Raygosa said.
