LA County sheriff's deputy killed in off-duty Temple City crash; passenger hospitalized

TEMPLE CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- An off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy was killed and a passenger was hospitalized after both were ejected from a car that slammed into a pole early Thursday morning in Temple City, authorities said.

The violent single-vehicle collision occurred shortly after 2 a.m. in the 5400 block of Santa Anita Avenue, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

A man was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. An injured woman was rushed to a hospital in unknown condition.

The county coroner's office later identified the man as Cameron Blaine Fish, 33, of Temple City. A sheriff's spokesperson confirmed Fish was an employee of the department, but declined to specify his title. A friend, who declined to be publicly identified, told ABC7 that Fish was a deputy who worked as a bailiff.

About a dozen sheriff's vehicles responded to the crash site, where the deceased Fish's body was covered with an American flag. Deputies and California Highway Patrol officers saluted as the body was placed in a coroner's vehicle, which was escorted by a procession as it made it's way to the coroner's office in Los Angeles.

The car, a 1965 Shelby Cobra convertible, was later towed from the scene. Fish's friend said the deputy enjoyed finding cars to fix up and re-sell.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the sheriff's department and the CHP.