Pedestrian Killed When Car Jumps Curb

A 57-year-old pedestrian was killed Thursday morning when a motorist lost control of his sport utility vehicle, which jumped a curb and crashed into a building on Sepulveda Boulevard, authorities said.

Police withheld the identities of the female victim and the driver until relatives could be notified. The motorist, who is in his mid-30s, was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center with head injuries, police said. He was in good condition late Thursday, a hospital spokesman said.

Witnesses said the motorist was driving southbound in the 6700 block of Sepulveda Boulevard about 11:15 a.m. when his green Ford Explorer ran onto the sidewalk and struck the pedestrian.

Jason De LaCerda, who was waiting for a friend at a bus stop, said the woman was carried on the vehicle’s hood for several feet and thrown off when the SUV hit a building occupied by small businesses.

“I ran over to check her pulse, but there was nothing,” De LaCerda said. “I went back to the guy in the car and he was wobbling in his seat. He had this big cut on his forehead, and I tried to slow the bleeding.”

Authorities are unsure of how fast the SUV was going, but there were no skid marks to indicate the driver had hit the brakes. Alcohol did not appear to have been a factor in the accident, LAPD Sgt. Ed Wheelis said.

Francisco Reynoso, who runs a lapidary store in the building that was hit, said he was paying some bills when he was startled by the sound of the crash. The vehicle struck a concrete wall that prevented it from smashing into Reynoso’s store.

“I saw the woman on the ground and she wasn’t moving,” he said. “It was scary seeing that so close.”

A safety inspection team checked the structural integrity of the building and made temporary repairs to the damaged wall that supported the roof, said Bob Steinbach chief inspector of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. Businesses were allowed to reopen later Thursday.