LOS ANGELES, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruits were critically injured Wednesday morning when a man driving a Honda CRV plowed into a large group during a training run in South Whittier, authorities said.
The crash occurred near the sheriff’s STARS Center training academy, near Mills Avenue and Trumball Street in unincorporated Los Angeles County, Deputy David Yoo said. Dispatchers received a call at 6:26 a.m. about a crash involving pedestrians, Deputy Brenda Serna said.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a news conference in Orange County, where many of the injured were transported, that 25 recruits were hurt – five in critical condition, four in moderate and stable condition and 16 sustained minor injuries, They were members of Academy Class 464. He said injuries included head trauma and broken bones, and “we have had some loss of limb,” noting that one of the five critical patients “is currently on a ventilator.”
At least one of the recruits suffered cranial bleeding and was listed in critical condition, according to a source familiar with the mass casualty incident.
Previous reports said 23 people were injured when a 22-year-old wrong-way driver plowed his car into a class of 75 recruits, who were running in formation as part of a training exercise.
The vehicle veered into the group of recruits from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and several other police departments in Southern California at around 6:20 a.m. local time (1420 GMT) in Whittier, Villanueva said.
Officials said the young driver suffered minor injuries and was detained at the scene.
Villanueva said the driver passed a field sobriety test and the cause of the accident “is still unknown at this time.”
Officials said that the investigation is still ongoing.
Witnesses say the car was driving at around 30 to 40mph when it hit the crowd, preventing many from getting out of the way in time.
The car only stopped when it slammed into a light pole, which stopped its momentum. Aerial footage from KTLA showed a gray Honda CRV mangled in the aftermath.
‘It looked like an airplane wreck, there were so many bodies scattered everywhere,’ Villanueva said at a separate news conference later in the morning.
He added that all of the injuries were ‘survivable,’ but may be ‘life-altering.’
At least one victim is currently on a ventilator at a local hospital and others lost limbs or suffered head trauma, he said.
Authorities say the driver was traveling the wrong way when he plowed into a group of Los Angeles Sheriff recruits
Police say the 22-year-old Hispanic driver underwent a sobriety test and was taken into custody. He blew a ‘0.0,’but was found to have marijuana in his car.
It remains unclear whether he was high at the time of the crash Wednesday morning, but the Los Angeles Times reports he told cops on the scene he was sleepy.
The driver was among the four people reporting moderate injuries and was also brought to a local hospital. — NNN-AGENCIES
