Thirty people were injured around 2 a.m. Saturday, July 19, when a car drove into a crowd outside a nightclub in East Hollywood, according to an incident report from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). The driver, who suffered a gunshot wound, was pulled from the vehicle and attacked by people on the scene following the crash.
Driver suffers gunshot wound, attack
In a statement shared with Straight Arrow News, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said that around 2 a.m. Saturday, patrol officers with the Rampart division responded to a call of an assault with a deadly weapon.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found that a vehicle had plowed into a crowd. The driver had been pulled from the vehicle and was being attacked by a group of bystanders.
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Police determined he had been shot at some point, though it’s unclear if that happened before or after he drove into the crowd. Additionally, LAPD said it’s too early to say if he drove into the crowd intentionally or not.
LAFD Captain Adam Van Gerpen said preliminary information suggests the driver might have lost consciousness before striking the crowd of bystanders.
According to LAPD, a search is currently underway for the suspected gunman, who fled the scene.
Crash follows fight
Around 2 a.m. Saturday, an individual driving a Nissan Versa plowed into a crowd of people gathered outside Vermont Hollywood, a nightclub located at Santa Monica Blvd. and Vermont Ave. in East Hollywood.
Maria Medrano operates a hot dog cart with her husband outside the club. She told The Associated Press that a fight had broken out shortly before the incident. Speaking to the AP from the hospital, Medrano said that the car crushed her hot dog stand, nearly killing her and her husband.
“The car stopped once it hit the hot dog stand, it got stuck there,” Medrano said. “If not, I wouldn’t be here to tell (the story).”
23 taken to hospital
As of 4:20 a.m. Saturday, LAFD reported that seven people were in critical condition, while six were in serious condition and 10 were in fair condition. Those individuals were transported to area hospitals and trauma centers. Another seven declined to go to the hospital after they were assessed on the scene.
“They were all standing in line going into a nightclub. There was a taco cart out there, so they were … getting some food, waiting to go in. And there’s also a valet line there,” LAFD Captain Van Gerpen said. “The valet podium was taken out, the taco truck was taken out, and then a large number of people were impacted by the vehicle.”
LAPD told Straight Arrow News that the driver was also taken to a local hospital, though his condition is unknown at this time.
More than 120 LAFD personnel responded to the scene.
In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, “This is a heartbreaking tragedy. The hearts of Angelenos are with all of the victims impacted this morning — a full investigation into what happened is underway.”
