SUV slams into Brentwood homeless encampment, injuring 3

Three people were injured early Thursday when an SUV plowed into a homeless camp in Brentwood next to Los Angeles National Veterans Park, authorities said.

Shortly after midnight, a dark-colored SUV drove through several tents and struck a fence along a sidewalk near San Vicente Boulevard and Mayfield Avenue.

Video at the scene showed a black vehicle with a shattered windshield and extensive damage. Metal bars on the nearby park fence were crushed inward. A downed tree can also been seen lying near the vehicle, which came to rest around several tents adorned with American flags that were lining the sidewalk.

“Speed may have been a factor,” LAPD Officer Lizeth Lomeli said. The driver of the vehicle was not taken into custody, police said.

Three people were injured, including the driver, but no one was taken to the hospital, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.

Battalion Chief Anthony Matthews said they were “fortunate” in a taped interview, adding that there were “no significant injuries to any person.”

An unhoused Navy veteran was reportedly among those who were hurt.

John Schwartz said he was sleeping in his tent outside Los Angeles National Veterans Park in Brentwood when a vehicle drove through the homeless encampment.

(OnScene.TV)

John Schwartz told OnScene.TV that he was sleeping in his tent when a vehicle suddenly rolled over the top of it.

“At first I didn’t know what happened,” Schwartz said. “I woke up and I looked at the car, and I realized the car crashed into the tent.”

The SUV came to rest atop several tents and other items and had to be lifted with special equipment to make sure no one was trapped under it, Matthews said.

Veterans Affairs police officers responded to the crash, video showed.