Victim killed in Hollywood Freeway crash was a Los Angeles Times employee

A motorcyclist killed in a chain-reaction car crash on the 170 Freeway on Friday has been identified as Luis Diaz, 33.

Diaz, a Los Angeles Times employee, was killed when his motorcycle slammed into the rear of a stopped Mercedes-Benz on the southbound side of the freeway about 10:15 a.m. north of Riverside Drive, the California Highway Patrol said.

Diaz was an edition planner and paginator who helped with the layout for the Times and other publications.

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“The entire department is mourning his loss,” his manager, Julie Byer said.

Diaz was the single fatality in a series of collisions that began moments before he hit the Mercedes, the CHP said.

It started when a Chrysler 300 in the fast lane swerved to the right and hit the rear of a Chevrolet Express truck, sending the front end of that truck left into the fast lane, where it hit the side of the stopped Mercedes, according to the CHP.

Officials did not say why the Mercedes was stopped.

The Mercedes was pushed left into the carpool lane directly into Diaz’s path. After Diaz’s motorcycle slammed into the Mercedes, the motorcycle hit a Nissan sedan in the fast lane, which was propelled into a Honda in front of it.

The drivers of the vehicles were treated at the scene and released. Diaz was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, officials said.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.

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