Los Angeles, California: Car Drives Onto Sidewalk Outside Arlington Heights Grocery, Eight Taken to Hospitals

LOS ANGELES, California (Orbit Post) Eight people were taken to hospitals on Saturday after a car jumped the curb and drove onto a sidewalk outside a grocery store in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched at 12:51 p.m. to 4040 W. Washington Blvd., a couple of blocks north of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.

"A total of 10 patients were assessed at the scene of the accident, resulting in 8 patients receiving transport to local hospitals," the department's Jennifer Middleton said in the account carried by MyNewsLA. The genders, ages and conditions of the patients were not immediately available from the department, she said. Crews set up a triage area at the scene so the injured could be checked and sorted for transport.

Two children among the injured

FOX 11 Los Angeles reported, citing police, that a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old were among those hit by the car, and that the 9-year-old is in serious condition. Video from the Citizen app showed a gray four-door sedan stopped on the sidewalk by cases of bottled water stacked near the entrance of the store, which FOX 11 identified as The Market, in the 4000 block of West Washington Boulevard. No names of the injured had been released by Saturday evening, and officials gave no further detail about their conditions.

Driver stayed at the scene, police say

KTLA reported that the driver was a man believed to be about 60 years old who appeared to have remained at the scene. The Los Angeles Police Department told The California Post that he was not arrested. It was not clear whether the driver was among the people taken to a hospital. Officials had not said what caused the car to leave the road and mount the sidewalk. FOX 11 reported that investigators had not clarified whether the crash came from a mechanical failure, a medical emergency, driver impairment or an intentional act. Traffic investigators were expected to examine the crash site, interview witnesses and inspect the vehicle to work out the sequence of events.

Road closures around Washington Boulevard

The fire department said traffic in the area would be delayed, and the Department of Transportation shut down northbound traffic on 10th Avenue at 23rd Street. FOX 11 advised drivers to avoid West Washington Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and Western Avenue and to use Venice Boulevard or Adams Boulevard as alternate east-west routes while the scene investigation and cleanup continued.

Arlington Heights is a dense residential and commercial neighborhood in central Los Angeles, and Washington Boulevard is one of its main east-west streets, lined with small markets and shops that draw steady foot traffic on weekends. Police had not announced any further arrests or charges in the reports published by Saturday evening.