Thursday, July 6, 2017

Two people were killed, 2 injured after a utility work truck crashed into parked cars in Koreatown in Los Angeles, CA



Thursday, July 06, 2017 12:19AM
KOREATOWN, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two people were killed after a truck crashed into parked cars in Koreatown Wednesday.

The crash happened around 3 p.m. in the 700 block of South Hobart Boulevard. It was captured on surveillance video from a building near the site of the deadly crash.

A man was standing behind his parked SUV with the trunk open when an out-of-control work truck crashed into his vehicle.

Investigators said the incident actually began around the corner at 8th Street and Harvard Boulevard, when the truck driver collided into two cars and then continued onto Hobart Boulevard.

Authorities said the male SUV driver, who was between 75 and 80 years old, ended up pinned between his vehicle and another one after the crash, resulting in his legs being severed.

His wife was sitting in the passenger seat and suffered severe injuries.

Authorities said it appeared the driver of the truck jumped out of the car before the crash, but ended up being run over by his back tires. He died at the hospital.

A passenger in the truck was not seriously injured, authorities said. They also said the pair were on their way home from a construction project when the crashes occurred.

Authorities are now trying to figure out what caused the truck to lose control.

"Two big questions will be: what happened with the driver? Did he have a medical condition? Was there alcohol or anything else involved? So we'll look at that. Also, was there something with the truck that may have caused the accident? Was there a mechanical problem with the truck," Officer Patrick Delaney said.

The investigation was ongoing. 

Most likely the truck driver was drunk or on drugs.



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Two men were killed and two others were injured on Wednesday after a string of collisions involving a utility truck in Koreatown, officials said.

The fatal collision occurred around 3 p.m. in the 700 block of South Hobart Boulevard, after the utility truck carrying two construction workers spun out of control following a separate crash one block away, according to investigators from the Los Angeles fire and police departments.

In the second, two-car collision, a 50-year-old man was standing behind his SUV as it idled on Hobart Boulevard when the utility truck crashed into the vehicle, the fire department said.

The force of the impact propelled the car back, and the man was pinned between his SUV and a red car parked directly behind it, police said. His wife, a 50-year-old woman, was sitting as a passenger in the SUV at the time.

The man was transported to a local hospital in critical condition with a severe traumatic injury to his lower extremity, according to authorities. He later succumbed to his injuries, LAFD Capt. Thomas said.

The woman was transported in fair condition with non-life threatening injuries, authorities added.

The driver of the utility truck allegedly leaped out of his vehicle prior to impact and may have been run over by his own car, police said.

He was transported to the hospital in grave condition and pronounced dead a short time later, officials said. He has only been identified as a man in his 30s.

The truck's passenger, a 21-year-old man, was not hurt, officials said.

The earlier collision involving the truck occurred at the intersection Harvard Boulevard and Eighth Street.

There, the truck's driver allegedly lost control and hit a Jeep and Honda Accord, but neither of those cars' occupants were hurt, police said. A fourth victim was evaluated at that scene and declined transportation.

An investigation was underway to determine whether a mechanical failure contributed to the accidents, police added.  Most likely the truck driver was drunk or on drugs.