CHP: Driver says brakes failed before car hit 3 teen girls

A driver who hit three teenagers walking across a North Hollywood street Wednesday says his car’s brakes failed, the California Highway Patrol says.

One of the 14-year-old girls was on life support with head trauma, another suffered a dislocated hip and the third a broken arm, said CHP spokesman Leland Tang.

The driver, identified as a 48-year-old Valley Village resident, was taken to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank with non-life-threatening injuries.

CHP officials said they could not confirm the driver’s claims. The Prius he was driving is equipped with a black box that could indicate whether there was brake failure, Tang said.

“It will take several weeks to figure this out because we have to do a forensics test on the vehicle,” Tang said. “We would also look at the brakes themselves.”

The 2013 Toyota Prius was coming off the 170 Freeway offramp when it hit the girls in a crosswalk near 11482 Magnolia Blvd.

The girls were reportedly students at nearby Oakwood School, and were walking back to campus about 1:35 p.m. after a P.E. class at a nearby park.

After the collision, the Prius slammed into a Nissan Altima before coming to rest on a curb along Magnolia.

CHP officials said they did not know how fast the Prius was traveling. The street was reopened to traffic about 5:15 p.m.