Vehicle rams into crowd outside Los Angeles club
LOS Angeles – A vehicle struck a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub along a boulevard occupied in Los Angeles early on Saturday, injuring 30 people and driving passers -by to attack the driver, the authorities said.
The driver was discovered later, according to the Los Angeles police, who was looking for an alleged shooter who fled the premises.
He was not immediately clear if the driver had been shot before or after the accident or why he drove in the crowd, said a spokesperson for the Los Angeles police service.
Twenty-three victims were transported to local hospitals and trauma centers, police said.
At least three were in critical condition after being injured along boulevard Santa Monica in East Hollywood, the Los Angeles City fire service said in a statement.
Captain Fire Adam Van Gerpen said that a line of people – the majority of women – waited to enter a nightclub when it had been struck by a Nissan Versa which also hit a tacos truck and a valet book.
“They were all lines in a nightclub. There was a Taco trolley there, so they were … obtained food, waiting to enter. And there is also a line of valet, “said Van Gerpen, an information manager. “The valet podium was removed, the Taco truck was removed, then a large number of people were affected by the vehicle.”
People inside the club went out to help in the minutes before the emergency teams arrived, he said, to help the victims.
The driver, whose paramedical ball wound was found by paramedical paramedics, was taken to a local hospital. Police did not identify him or disclose his condition. The shooter was described as a man in a blue jersey with a silver revolver.
“This is under police investigation,” said Van Gerpen. “It will be a big investigation with the LAPD.”
The club, Vermont Hollywood, organized a reggae / hip hop event from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., depending on its online calendar. A telephone message left with the company was not immediately returned.
A fight had broken out outside the club before the incident, according to Maria Medrano, who worked a food trolley outside.
Shortly after, said Medrano, the car struck a group of people standing outside.
She said that she and her husband, who both selling hot dogs outside, escaped shortly after the car hit their stand, crushing it.
“The car stopped once she struck the Hot-Dogs stand, she stayed stuck there,” Medrano told the Hospital Press. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be there to tell (the story).”
Medrano said she had heard what seemed to be shots after the accident.
“Everyone started running,” she said.
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