At least six people were hospitalized in serious condition after an SUV trying to evade police plowed into a crowded street carnival in Los Angeles on Saturday night. According to police, a white Porsche Cayenne SUV sped off as they tried to pull it over during a traffic stop on Saturday night, crashing through a barricade and into a gathering of onlookers.
The incident happened near Trinity Street and Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in the city's historic South Central area around 8:20 p.m., police told NBC Los Angeles. At least six individuals were hit badly, and the automobile was severely damaged as the driver sped off, according to authorities.
Almost Killed
All of the victims, who were aged between 15 and 40, were rushed to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening wounds. A video from the scene captured the moment terrified carnival-goers rush to safety after the SUV plowed into the crowd.
The horrifying incident happened around 8:20 pm in the city's historic South Central area, close to Trinity Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The SUV was located a few blocks away, and the unnamed driver was arrested, according to authorities.
An investigation is in progress as it's unclear if the driver was drunk.
According to eyewitnesses, people at the carnival heard what appeared to be gunshots as they stood in line for the rides, KTLA reported. According to the outlet, what had been a family night out at the street fair rapidly descended into chaos as people ran for their lives in all directions.
Police said that they attempted to pull over the Porsche during a traffic stop before the driver drove into the carnival.
Shocking Scene
Footage from the incident showed how a fun night at the carnival rapidly turned into a nightmare as people fled for their life while the SUV plowed into the crowd. "It was kind of upsetting because he hit a couple of my guards," one witness told KABC.
"He actually gave one of the guards a concussion and broke his leg. It shouldn't have happened, man."
Police claim that the incident started when officers tried to conduct a traffic stop. The vehicle sped off without stopping, cutting through a cement rail and into the street carnival.
"It looks like he tried to get out of the fair, but because of the barricades, he was unable to get out of the fair so he continued westbound MLK, continuing through the crowd of people, which we estimate was between a thousand to 2,000 people," said Sgt. Robert Leary with LAPD.
Police said that the incident could have turned into a deadly affair but luckily no one died. "It is a blessing that no one actually got severely injured," he added.
"I think that they heard the car, I'm not sure if he was honking, obviously people were screaming. It was quite hectic, so I think people saw this car coming in and thankfully they got out of the way in time."
The car was eventually discovered three streets away from the scene of the collision, according to the police.
