Three Killed After SUV Strikes Pedestrians Near North Hollywood Metro Station
A white SUV drove onto a sidewalk near the North Hollywood Metro station on Tuesday evening, killing three people and sending at least three others to hospitals in critical condition. Police said the cause of the crash was still under investigation.
At least three people were killed and at least three others were taken to hospitals in critical condition after a white SUV drove onto a sidewalk and struck a group of street vendors and pedestrians near the North Hollywood Metro station in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 5:55 p.m. local time at the corner of Chandler Boulevard and Lankershim Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Three people were pronounced dead at the scene. Two pedestrians and the driver were taken to hospitals in critical condition, the department said.
Cause still under investigation
The driver, a man in his 60s, was conscious when he was taken from the vehicle and appeared to be in shock, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Warner Castillo said at a news conference at the scene. Drug recognition experts were testing the driver to determine whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Castillo said. Police said they did not know whether the crash was deliberate.
A battalion chief who happened on the scene shortly before 6 p.m. found a vehicle that had “careened into a number of people on a sidewalk,” Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Joe Everett said. The SUV came to rest under a blue canopy next to a covered Metro entrance, according to aerial video from local station KCAL-TV. Police said they were gathering surveillance video and interviewing witnesses.
City officials respond
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that she was “heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted” and that her office was working with city departments as investigators determine the cause. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the inquiry would be “a prolonged but a very deliberate investigation,” according to KCBS/KCAL.
The identities of the victims and the driver had not been released. Police initially responded to the crash as a reported assault with a deadly weapon involving a vehicle, Castillo said.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and USA Today.
