Person struck, killed by city of LA sanitation truck in Sherman Oaks

SHERMAN OAKS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A city of Los Angeles sanitation truck on Wednesday struck and killed a person in Sherman Oaks "believed to be unhoused," according to Councilwoman Nithya Raman.

The crash happened near the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and Noble Avenue. No other details were immediately available.

The death comes after three other recent deaths in Sherman Oaks involving people who were unhoused.

The latest recorded data from the L.A. Department of Public Health shows the number of homeless deaths has risen from about 2 deaths a day in 2014, to almost 5 a day in 2020.

Raman added that she was awaiting details on what caused the other deaths.

"These are lives that mattered and we express our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of these individuals," Raman said in a statement.

Raman added that her office has allocated funds and contracted with service providers for interim housing. There is also a team of health practitioners working along Ventura Boulevard.

"These deaths shed light on the gravity of our city's homelessness crisis and why we must respond with urgency to bring people off the streets and into shelter," Raman said. "But no matter the cause, no life or death on the street is acceptable. We will keep pushing to do more until we are at zero."

In December, a city sanitation truck was also involved in a crash in which a pedestrian was struck and killed.

City News Service contributed to this report.