One Los Angeles driver had a bad day on May 5, 1948, when their car plowed into a streetlight out front of the Westlake Drug Store at 600 S. Alvarado St on the corner of 6th Street. This intersection is the northeast corner of MacArthur Park, which was once known as Westlake Park, hence the name of the drug store. What I find most interesting about this photo (other than the semaphore traffic light appears to be unscathed) is that it allows us to see how big the tops of those streetlights were. It’s almost a tall as the cop!
This incident was reported in the Hollywood Citizen-News on the same day.
The building housing Westlake Drug, Bruce’s Store for Men, and Park Gift Store is now gone, replaced by a more modern building that now houses a health food store. This is how that intersection looked in February 2023.
Looks like James Stillwater recovered alright. I found him in the 1950 census living in Los Angeles with his wife at the same address. He is listed as a police officer.
The automobile didn’t lose control, a person behind the wheel did.