73
This image made from video provided by KABC-TV shows a minivan involved in a deadly collision with an SUV in which multiple people were injured including children in the North Hills area of Los Angeles today. Helicopters were used to fly the children to hospitals and ground ambulances took the other patients to emergency rooms. (KABC-TV via AP)
This image made from a video provided by KABC-TV shows an SUV involved in a collision with a minivan in which multiple people were injured including children in the North Hills area of Los Angeles today. Helicopters were used to fly the children to hospitals and ground ambulances took the other patients to emergency rooms. (KABC-TV via AP)
LOS ANGELES » A 37-year-old man was killed and eight people, including four children, were injured today when an SUV fleeing a previous crash ran a red light and collided with a minivan in Los Angeles, authorities said.
The Toyota Sienna minivan landed upside-down and badly crushed with multiple people ejected. The four children — three siblings and a family friend whose ages range from 4 to 12 — were all in the van along with three adults, one of which was killed.
One woman and one man were in the Toyota 4Runner SUV, which was speeding away from the scene of a previous accident when the collision occurred about 11:40 a.m., police Sgt. Frank Preciado said.
Helicopters flew some of the children to hospitals, and ground ambulances took the other patients to emergency rooms.
The man who was killed was declared dead at a hospital, police said.
The Fire Department said just after the crash that as many as eight people may have been critically injured, but hours later there was no further information on their status.
Details on the previous crash were not immediately available. Police have not announced any arrests from either crash.
Earlier today, in an unrelated crash that was only about a mile away, two Los Angeles police officers and another man were injured when their vehicles collided. All three were expected to survive.
Most of the blame for the death and injuries falls squarely on the driver of the fleeing SUV of course, but if victims from the minivan were ejected because seat belts and child restraints weren’t properly used, then the driver of the minivan is not completely blameless.