March 11, 2013
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A pedestrian was killed and six other people were injured when a pickup truck veered onto a busy downtown Los Angeles sidewalk on Sunday afternoon.
Officials said the 2006 dark-colored Chevrolet Avalanche was traveling southbound on Broadway between 3rd and 4th streets just before 2 p.m. when the driver lost control and jumped onto the sidewalk. The truck hit five pedestrians and continued forward into a building.
"It was a very horrible scene, everyone was crying, everyone was screaming," said Pearl Lira, a witness.
The five pedestrians were all adults ranging in age from 41 to 72. One of them, a 52-year-old Hispanic woman from Los Angeles whose name was withheld, was trapped under the wreckage and died at the scene. The other four were transported to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
According to a witness, the woman who died was at a bus stop with her husband and another victim was in a wheelchair.
The driver, identified as Juan Moreno, and his passenger were also injured and taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that Moreno had a medical emergency from a pre-existing condition that caused him to lose control of the truck.
"It appears the vehicle was traveling at a lower rate of speed because there's not a lot of substantial amount of damage to the building," said Robert Franco, an assistant chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Franco said the building, which houses a restaurant, was deemed safe.