A Palmdale mother of two was fatally struck by an Los Angeles Police Department patrol car responding to a call for backup on Halloween night. Kristine Poulos, 32, was hit by the vehicle around 11:30 p.m. on October 31 near Woodman Avenue and Bessemer Street in Valley Glen, according to the New York Post.
The LAPD patrol car, assigned to the North Hollywood Division, was on its way to a Halloween party in Sherman Oaks where officers had received a report of shots fired. Witnesses described the party as having approximately 300 attendees.
Poulos died at the scene. Her daughter, Naomi Portillo, has established a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral and burial expenses, stating in a message on the fundraising page that her mother was crossing the street when the incident occurred.
“This loss has deeply hurt me, my sister, and my mother’s sister… We are still trying to process the pain of what happened,” Portillo wrote. Poulos’ brother, Fernando Castro, also shared his grief on Facebook, noting that his nieces would have to grow up without their mother.