3 People Are Killed When Hit by MTA Bus

Three pedestrians were killed Thursday when they were struck by an MTA bus as they crossed the street in a bustling Koreatown neighborhood.

Jae Sil Kim, 78, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Soon Yi Young, 63, of Los Angeles died later at California Hospital Medical Center. The identity of the third victim, who died at County-USC Medical Center, was withheld pending notification of family members.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

The bus driver, E. A. Lyde of Bellflower, was treated for shock at Good Samaritan Hospital, officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. She has been employed by the MTA since August 1991.

MTA spokeswoman Marion MacKenzie said she did not know details about the driver’s record, adding, “We don’t think there was anything was wrong with her.”

Los Angeles Police Sgt. John Haus said there was no indication that Lyde was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. No charges were being filed against her, he said.

The bus was headed southbound on Vermont Avenue in Koreatown and was crossing Olympic Boulevard when it struck the three pedestrians, said Gary Wosk, an MTA spokesman.

No other details about the accident were released. But one witness, Giovanni Figueroa, said the three were caught in a crosswalk as their light changed from yellow to red. He said he saw the three victims began to cross Olympic about 3:15 p.m.

“They were walking toward me,” Figueroa said, “and then the light turned red and they turned around and the bus hit them.”

Kim’s body was pinned beneath the bus and was not removed until almost four hours after the crash.

“I saw them get hit and I ran over to see if [Kim] was still alive,” said security guard Roger Gonzales. “I put my hand on her. There was so much blood . . . and I ran and called the paramedics.”

A crowd of more than 200 people gathered at the scene, shortly after the accident. They milled about for hours as MTA investigators and police and fire officials tried to determine the details surrounding the crash.

The approximately 15 bus passengers left after the crash and disappeared into the crowd, witnesses said.

Investigators hoped to question some of them about whether the light was red, yellow or green when the bus went through the intersection.

For several hours after the accident, the southbound Vermont lanes and all but one northbound lane were closed.

“It caused tremendous traffic tie-ups,” MacKenzie said. “Traffic was moving, but it was very, very slow.”

Times staff writer Miles Corwin contributed to this report.