Three people are in critical condition and at least 27 were injured after a vehicle became a crowd in Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, the early hours of Saturday.
Sergeant Travis Ward, surveillance commander of the Central Traffic Division, in the Los Angeles Police Department, said the driver was shot after the collision, and had been transported to the hospital and taken to surgery. For this reason, he said, LAPD could not determine if the driver was intoxicated.
The images of the scene showed a gray vehicle attacked on the sidewalk with debris scattered across the floor. You can see at least a dozen firefighters with several people sitting on the floor on the blankets.
In another image, firefighters seem to be helping someone from the ground next to the car.
A man who was inside the nightclub told NBC News that he heard a “strong blow”, and that a multitude of people bent up believing that they had heard shots.
“We look at the club, and it’s a car in the hole right there,” he said. “And then it is crazy, because people everywhere, lying down, unconscious, people, bleeding and those things.”
Sergeant Ward added that it was too early to say that the incident was intentional or if the driver left the road, adding an ongoing investigation.
Captain Adam Vangerpen, public information officer of the Los Angeles Fire Department, told NBC News that the vehicle hit a taco car before meeting a large number of people outside a nightclub. He said Lafd was sent to 2 am pdt.
Three people are critical along with six people in serious condition, Lafd said in a separate statement, and another 21 are treated for injuries. He said that 124 firefighters attended the scene.
Sergeant Ward said there were no confirmed deaths.
