Man arrested after 7 injured in hit-and-run incident in downtown L.A.
A 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run Saturday after his vehicle struck two pedestrians in downtown Los Angeles before smashing into another vehicle, sending a total of seven people to the hospital, authorities said.
The injured, including the driver, are all expected to survive, said Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The incident occurred about 10:45 a.m. after a motorist ran a red light at 4th and Wall streets, Lopez said.
Soon after, the motorist struck two women at 8th and Main streets before crashing into a car about a block away, he said.
The four people in the vehicle and the two pedestrians were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect’s name was not released.
Jean Nolasco, whose mother owns a liquor store in the neighborhood, said he was walking nearby when he saw people gathered at 8th and Spring streets and heard a lot of shouting. He said the two injured women, in their 30s or 40s, were badly hurt and that one was bleeding from her mouth and one of her arms.
Witnesses said the motorist’s silver sedan continued south to 9th and Spring and ran a red light trying to make a left turn.
The driver then collided with another car and spun out and smashed his car into the pole of a traffic sign, said Shaina Smith, an employee of a nearby coffee shop.
The suspect got out of the car, clearly disoriented, and tried to run, but he was quickly pinned by a police officer, she said.
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