[ad_1]
Authorities on Thursday identified the man who was killed when the car he was driving slammed into a fire truck in West Compton this week.
Around 12:31 a.m. Tuesday, a Los Angeles County Fire Truck on Avalon Boulevard was struck by a Chrysler PT Cruiser crossing the intersection “at speed” on Compton Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol spokeswoman, Angelia Gonzales. Three other cars were involved in the accident.
The people inside the Chrysler – a man and a woman – were pronounced dead at the scene. Four firefighters aboard the fire truck were hospitalized with minor injuries. No one else was hurt.
The man was identified Thursday as Montae Cook, 27, by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, which said the cause of his death was “blunt force injuries.”
The woman has been identified as Asia Allen-Bookman, 25, of Los Angeles, according to her sister Tiffany Acker. The coroner’s office has not officially released Allen-Bookman’s identity, citing pending family notification.
Acker said that although some media quoted a witness and the CHP as saying the car his sister was in was involved in a street race, Cook was actually being chased by an ex-girlfriend shortly before the incident. accident.
Allen-Bookman, according to Acker, met Cook about two to three weeks ago, and they were likely returning from a video shoot and dropping her off at work. Allen-Bookman called a panicked friend during the drive and told her they were being chased by Cook’s ex-girlfriend and needed help, Acker said.
“She was crying hysterically,” Acker said of her sister. “I guess my sister saw her life flash before her eyes. She knew there was no way out.
The car chasing them was a white or silver car of unknown make and model, according to Acker.
Cook’s adoptive mother, Marie Pilloud of Nebraska, said Cook lived with her until she was around 20 years old. He grew up in the Pilloud home with three adoptive siblings and attended Iowa Western Community College for two years before moving to Las Vegas to pursue a career in music. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career as a rapper and was gaining traction on TikTok with his music, she said.
“He could be a difficult kid here and there, but he always had something so special about him,” said Pilloud, 68. “He had a big heart and he loved music.”
Pilloud last spoke with Cook last week, when he contacted her to ask for her birth certificate. They talked for a while until Pilloud said she couldn’t talk anymore and would call him back in a few days.
“He had a tough childhood,” she said. “He always told me he was going to be successful, buy me a house and take care of me. We had a great relationship. He has always been in my life and I have always been in his.
[ad_2]
Cnn