WESTLAKE DISTRICT (CBSLA.com) — At least four people were taken to hospitals — two in critical condition — after a truck plowed into a crowd inside MacArthur Park in the Westlake District.
The crash was reported at 12:38 p.m., Los Angeles Fire Department dispatcher Margaret Stewart said. Firefighters who responded to the scene found four people down.
The four were apparently asleep under a tree when the driver backed up from a parking spot and into the park, according to LAPD officials.
After the incident, police upgraded two of the victims after they were medically evaluated. As of 1:45 p.m., according to police, two men are in critical condition, while two others suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Stewart said the driver, who was also taken to a hospital to get checked out, is in LAPD custody. According to a report, the driver may have been fleeing officers to avoid a parking ticket.
In the KCAL9 News at 4 p.m., Lazar reported seeing the driver, out of the hospital and not charged.
The driver also took out a parking meter before rolling over the sleeping men.
Jerry Coleman, a witness, told her the driver was going “full speed, in reverse.”
Coleman also said the driver tried to flee but some workers managed to detain him.
She also spoke to a man named Glenn who said he lives with the driver in the truck with their dog.
He said the driver shouldn’t have been behind the wheel due to health concerns.
“He hasn’t driven that truck in months,” Glenn said.
She also reported that two of the victims remained in critical condition.
