CHP officer’s death after Culver City crash attributed to effects of fentanyl

LOS ANGELES — The death of a 34-year-old California Highway Patrol officer following a Culver City traffic crash that occurred while he and his partner were transporting a DUI suspect was caused by the effects of the powerful opioid fentanyl, the county Medical Examiner’s Office announced Monday.

Officer Miguel Cano, 34, was driving a CHP cruiser around 12:30 a.m. July 2, 2025, near Bristol Parkway and Green Valley Circle when the vehicle crashed. According to the CHP, Cano and his partner had arrested a DUI suspect who allegedly had “a large quantity” of cocaine.

Cano told his partner he was feeling ill, and moments later, their cruiser veered off the road and struck a tree. Cano was given the overdose-reversal drug Narcan as a precaution, authorities said.

He was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he died. The other officer and the suspect both suffered minor injuries. The crash occurred just blocks from the CHP’s West Los Angeles office, where the officers had been headed.

According to a statement from the Medical Examiner’s Office, Cano’s cause of death was determined to be the effects of fentanyl.

“The time and route of how the fentanyl was introduced into Officer Cano’s system is unknown and cannot be determined,” according to the medical examiner. “The manner of death is accident.”

“We just received and are reviewing the report released today by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. Out of respect for Officer Cano’s family and the integrity of the review process, we will refrain from comment until we have thoroughly examined the report,” said CHP Southern Division Sgt. Daniel Keene.

Cano joined the CHP in 2023. He lived in Moreno Valley and had been married for 10 years to his wife, Melissa. They wed in a converted bullfighting ring in Zacatecas, Mexico, her native country. The couple had no children.

The Los Angeles Daily News contributed to this story.