Key facts
- The Los Angeles Fire Department said three people were declared dead at the scene and three others were critically injured.
- Police Captain Warner Castillo said the driver, a man in his mid-60s, was among the injured.
- Police Chief Jim McDonnell said everyone struck was on the sidewalk and the investigation was in its early stages.
- Mayor Karen Bass said her office is coordinating with city departments and authorities to determine the cause of the crash.
An SUV drove onto a sidewalk in Los Angeles' North Hollywood district on Tuesday, killing at least three people and critically injuring three more, Mayor Karen Bass said. The vehicle struck pedestrians and street vendors, she said, and investigators have not determined whether the crash was accidental or deliberate.
NBC News reported that a white SUV hit at least five pedestrians at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards, near a Los Angeles Metro station, at around 5:55 p.m. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the three who died were beyond medical help when responders arrived and were declared dead at the scene. Three others were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police Captain Warner Castillo said the SUV's driver, a man in his mid-60s, was among the injured and that drug-recognition experts were at the hospital to determine whether he was impaired. Police did not believe another vehicle was involved, Castillo said. Everyone struck was on the sidewalk, Police Chief Jim McDonnell said, adding that the investigation was in its early stages.
Bass said her office was coordinating with city departments and authorities on the cause. "I'm heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted," she said, and said the city would provide updates as more information became available. McDonnell said investigators would review video and interview witnesses in what he called a prolonged but deliberate investigation.