Breaking News Today: 3 Killed in North Hollywood Crash
The latest breaking news today from Los Angeles is a scene of devastation at one of the San Fernando Valley’s busiest transit hubs. A white SUV drove onto a sidewalk near the North Hollywood Metro station on Tuesday evening, striking a group of street vendors and pedestrians, killing at least three people and critically injuring three more. The crash happened at about 5:55 p.m. local time, in the middle of the evening rush, at the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler Boulevard. Three of the people struck were pronounced dead at the scene, and two other pedestrians and the driver were taken to local hospitals in critical condition.
The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed the death toll on Tuesday night, and the Los Angeles Police Department said the SUV had struck at least five pedestrians before coming to rest against a transit shelter. The driver, a man in his 60s, was also taken to a hospital in critical condition. As of late Tuesday, the authorities had not released the identities of any of the victims or the driver, and they had not determined what caused the SUV to leave the road and mount the sidewalk. Police said they did not yet know whether the crash was an accident or a deliberate act.
The crash drew an immediate response from the city’s leaders. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the SUV had driven onto a sidewalk near the station, striking street vendors and pedestrians, and that preliminary reports indicated three people had lost their lives. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the community needed answers. “We need to understand exactly what happened and what led to this tragedy,” Barger said. The intersection remained closed for hours while investigators examined the wreckage.
What Happened on Lankershim Boulevard
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the incident was reported at about 5:55 p.m. in the 5300 block of North Lankershim Boulevard, near Chandler Boulevard, next to the North Hollywood Metro station. The Los Angeles Police Department said a white SUV travelling southbound on Lankershim Boulevard left the roadway, drove onto the sidewalk and struck a group of people standing near a food stand and a bus stop. Aerial news video from KCAL-TV, the local CBS News affiliate, showed a small white, partially crumpled SUV that appeared to have run up onto the sidewalk under a blue canopy and into the side of a mass-transit shelter structure. Debris was scattered across the pavement as firefighters and paramedics treated the injured.
The location is one of the most heavily used corners in North Hollywood. Lankershim Boulevard is a major thoroughfare through the busy NoHo commercial and arts district, and the North Hollywood Metro station is a key stop for commuters travelling between the San Fernando Valley and the rest of Los Angeles. At just before 6 p.m. on a weekday, the sidewalks around the station are crowded with commuters, shoppers and street vendors. The timing meant many people were in the area when the SUV mounted the sidewalk, and the first reports from the scene described confusion as bystanders and emergency workers tried to help the injured.
The fire department said three people were pronounced dead at the scene after emergency personnel determined they were beyond medical help. At least three other people were transported to local hospitals in critical condition, including two pedestrians and the driver. The police department said the vehicle had collided with at least five pedestrians, a figure that matches the count of three dead and two pedestrians taken to hospital. Six people in total were seriously affected: three who died at the scene and three who were taken to hospital fighting for their lives.
The Victims and the Driver
As of late Tuesday night, the authorities had not released the names of the three people who were killed or of the two pedestrians who were taken to hospital in critical condition. That is standard practice in the first hours after a fatal crash, while the authorities notify the families of the victims and confirm their identities. The mayor’s statement made clear that the victims included street vendors as well as pedestrians, and local television reports said the SUV had crashed into a food stand near a bus stop, which suggests that at least some of the people struck were vendors working at the stand or customers standing nearby.
The street vendors who work around the North Hollywood Metro station are a familiar presence in the neighbourhood, selling food and other goods to commuters and passers-by. They work on the sidewalk, close to the flow of traffic, and the crash has raised questions about the safety of the vendors and pedestrians who use that stretch of pavement every day. For now, though, the focus is on identifying the victims, notifying their families and caring for the injured, and no further details had been released by late Tuesday.
The driver of the SUV was described by the police as a man in his 60s. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and the police said tests were under way to determine whether he was under the influence of any substances at the time of the crash. Captain Warner Castillo told reporters at a news conference at the scene that investigators were still working to establish what had happened in the moments before the SUV left the road. The driver has not been identified publicly, and no charges had been announced as of late Tuesday.
What Police Know — and What They Do Not
The most important question about the crash — why it happened — remained unanswered on Tuesday night. The police said the circumstances of the crash were unknown, and a police spokesperson told reporters that investigators had yet to determine whether the crash was accidental or deliberate, and that officials had not ruled out anything. Captain Castillo was direct about the uncertainty when he spoke to reporters at the scene. “We don’t know if it was done intentionally, if it was done by accident,” he said, adding that the investigation was still in its earliest stages.
That uncertainty is normal in the first hours after a crash of this kind. Investigators will examine the SUV for mechanical faults, review the driver’s medical history once it is available, and try to reconstruct the vehicle’s path in the seconds before it mounted the sidewalk. The results of the tests on the driver, including whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, will be an important part of that work, but those results take time to come back. The police also said they were looking for security camera footage from the bus station and from nearby businesses, which could show the SUV’s movements in the moments before the crash.
The search for video is a central part of the investigation. The area around the station is covered by cameras operated by the transit system and by nearby businesses, and investigators will want to see every available angle. The footage could show how fast the SUV was travelling, whether it braked before leaving the road, and whether it swerved or drove straight onto the sidewalk. Until that evidence has been gathered and reviewed, the police have been careful not to speculate, and they have asked the public to avoid spreading rumours about the cause of the crash.
A Busy Transit Hub in the NoHo Arts District
The crash happened in the heart of North Hollywood, a neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley that has become one of Los Angeles’s busiest arts and entertainment districts. Lankershim Boulevard runs through the centre of the NoHo arts district, and the North Hollywood Metro station is the terminus of the line that carries commuters from the Valley into Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. The intersection of Lankershim and Chandler is a major junction, where the Metro station, bus stops and a busy commercial strip meet, and at rush hour the sidewalks are crowded with commuters, shoppers and vendors. The crash is likely to prompt questions about the safety of pedestrians and vendors at the station and along Lankershim Boulevard, including whether more barriers or bollards are needed to protect people on the sidewalk. Those questions will be part of the public conversation in the days ahead, but the authorities have not commented on the design of the intersection or on whether any changes are planned.
Officials Respond as the Investigation Begins
The response from the city’s leaders was swift. Mayor Karen Bass posted a statement on social media on Tuesday evening, saying an SUV had driven onto a sidewalk near the station, striking street vendors and pedestrians, and that preliminary reports indicated three people had lost their lives and others had been injured. Bass said first responders were on the scene and that her office was working closely with city departments. Her statement was one of the first official confirmations of the scale of the crash, and it was shared widely as news of the incident spread across Los Angeles.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, also issued a statement, saying the community needed to understand what had happened. “We need to understand exactly what happened and what led to this tragedy,” Barger said. Her words reflected the mood in North Hollywood on Tuesday night, where residents and business owners were trying to make sense of a crash that had turned an ordinary evening commute into a scene of loss. Her office said it was in contact with the police and fire departments and would share updates as they became available.
What Happens Next
The investigation into the crash is now under way, and the next steps are clear, even if the answers are not. Police investigators will continue to gather evidence from the scene, including the security camera footage they have asked for, and they will examine the SUV for any mechanical problems that could explain why it left the road. The results of the tests on the driver will be an important part of the picture, and the police will also want to speak to witnesses who were in the area when the crash happened, including other vendors, commuters and bus passengers who may have seen the SUV’s approach.
The identities of the victims are expected to be released once their families have been notified, and the condition of the two pedestrians and the driver in hospital will be updated as their treatment continues. The police have not said when they expect to announce a cause for the crash, and it could take days or longer before they are able to say whether it was an accident, a medical emergency, a mechanical failure or something else. Until then, the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler will remain a focus of attention in North Hollywood, and the community will be waiting for the answers that Barger and others have called for.
For the families of the three people who died, and for the three people fighting for their lives in hospital, the crash is already a tragedy that will not be undone by any finding the investigation reaches. For the rest of Los Angeles, it is a reminder of how quickly an ordinary evening at a busy transit station can turn into a disaster. The latest breaking news today is that three people are dead, three more are in critical condition, and the investigation into why is only just beginning.
*Source: Reuters*