BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Two killed, 12 injured in crash

Two people were killed and 12 people were injured Wednesday after a car transporter crashed into four vehicles and a community bookstore at Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Crest Highway, officials said.

Three of the 12 injured remained in critical condition Wednesday night while the other nine suffered minor injuries, said Inspector Sam Padilla of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The semi-truck driver walked away from the crash with few injuries, he said.

The semi-truck slammed into four vehicles waiting at a traffic light at the intersection and killed two people in a red car, which was cut in half, he said. After the semi-truck collided with the cars, it crashed into the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffee House, officials said.

The semi-truck remained inside the bookstore late Wednesday until building and safety inspectors said it was safe to remove the truck, Padilla said. The Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Department declared the crash a crime scene, he said.

La Cañada Flintridge Mayor Laura Olhasso was sadden by the deaths.

“I offer my sympathies to their families and friends and my deep sorrow for the two persons killed when an apparent runaway truck slammed into a bookstore in our city,” she said in a statement. The city had been trying to get the California Department of Transportation to review numerous safety issues that arose from the intersection. But they instead got letters from the department saying they would eventually study the issue, officials said.

“We are outraged that our numerous demands to Caltrans to immediately address the significant safety issues of out-of-control trucks on Angeles Crest Highway were ignored,” Olhasso said in a statement.