Motor officer who died in crash was Las Vegas mass shooting survivor – Law Officer

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – A motor officer with the Manhattan Beach Police Department who was killed in a collision early Wednesday morning on the 405 Freeway in Carson while commuting to work on his bike, was a survivor of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, according to reports.

Chad Swanson, 35, was a 13-year law enforcement veteran who had been assigned to the motorcycle detail for the past six years. He was also known as a person who risked his life saving others during the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Swanson attended the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas in 2017 along with four other off-duty personnel from the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Rachael Parker — a records specialist — was part of the MBPD group in attendance. Sadly, she was among the 58 people killed by mass murderer, Steven Paddock, who fired thousands of rounds from the 32nd-floor suite at Mandalay Bay.

Swanson risked his life saving others during the mayhem. He weaved through the crowd applying tourniquets and carrying people to safety. He was also hit in the arm by a bullet fragment, during the massacre, according to the Daily Breeze.

“I just wanted to try to help as many people as I could,” Swanson said at the time. “At a certain point, we realized that there were no more people in the concert venue that were alive that we could help. We canvassed the whole area to make sure we didn’t miss anybody.”

Manhattan Beach Police Lt. Kelly Benjamin said at a news conference Wednesday, “He personally was responsible for saving several lives and helping rescue victims out of that area.”

On 10-4-23, at about 5:15am, Manhattan Beach Police Department Motorcycle Officer Chad Swanson was involved in a fatal on duty traffic collision on the 405 Freeway. pic.twitter.com/C3eZjNojHI

— Manhattan Beach PD (@manhattanbchpd) October 4, 2023

The traffic fatality remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol – Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT), Law Officer reported.

Preliminary details released by officials Wednesday evening indicated a speeding vehicle made an unsafe lane change and collided with another vehicle, forcing the second automobile to collide with Swanson who was then thrown from his bike.

Benjamin also said during the press conference that Swanson “loved riding his motor, but most importantly Chad loved his wife and three boys.”

Swanson is survived by his wife and three sons as well as his parents.