Three Killed as SUV Plows Into Pedestrians at North Hollywood Metro Station
Three people were killed and three others were hospitalized on Tuesday evening when an SUV drove onto a sidewalk and struck a group of street vendors and commuters near the North Hollywood Metro station in Los Angeles, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 5:55 p.m. on November 10 in the 5300 block of North Lankershim Boulevard, near Chandler Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The three victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the driver, a man in his early 60s, was traveling southbound on Lankershim Boulevard when his white SUV struck at least five pedestrians and came to rest beneath a street vendor’s canopy near a Metro bus stop.
Investigators have not determined what caused the crash. Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Warner Castillo told reporters at a Tuesday night news conference that police had not ruled out the possibility that it was intentional.
"We don’t know if it was done intentionally, if it was done by accident," Castillo said, according to the Associated Press.
What happened at the Metro station
The North Hollywood Metro station is one of the San Fernando Valley’s busiest transit hubs, where the B Line subway meets the G Line busway. At rush hour, its sidewalks fill with commuters changing between trains and buses, and with street vendors selling food and goods to the passing crowds.
On Tuesday evening, that routine scene turned chaotic. The SUV mounted the sidewalk near the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards and plowed through the people gathered there, witnesses said. Aerial footage showed the white SUV stopped on the sidewalk beneath what appeared to be a street vendor’s canopy, according to KTLA.
Firefighters and paramedics arrived within minutes. Three people were pronounced dead at the scene after emergency crews determined their injuries could not be treated, the fire department said. Three other people were taken to hospitals. Two pedestrians were in critical condition, and the driver was in serious condition, according to CBS Los Angeles. An early fire department alert had listed three patients in critical condition; the figures differed as hospitals updated their counts.
Witnesses told CBS Los Angeles that the three people killed were street vendors who worked in the area. Local reports said the three victims were women, but police have not officially confirmed the victims’ identities or ages, and the names had not been released as of Wednesday morning.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged the crash on social media, writing that an SUV had driven onto a sidewalk near the station and struck a group of street vendors and pedestrians.
The investigation so far
The Los Angeles Police Department is treating the cause of the crash as an open question. Castillo said investigators were examining whether the driver was impaired and that drug recognition experts were evaluating him. The driver was removed from the vehicle and was able to talk but appeared to be in shock, Castillo said.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said detectives would review surveillance footage from nearby businesses and the Metro station as part of what he described as a prolonged investigation.
"It’ll be a prolonged but a very deliberate investigation to determine what happened here," McDonnell said.
Police said they did not believe a second vehicle was involved, despite some witness accounts suggesting otherwise, and no arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning. The intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards remained closed for several hours after the crash while investigators worked the scene.
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The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said one entrance to the Metro station remained closed on Tuesday night, but the bus and subway stations were otherwise open, according to Metro spokesperson Jose Ubaldo.
Why this matters
The crash raises fresh questions about pedestrian safety at Los Angeles transit hubs, where large crowds gather on sidewalks that sit just feet from heavy traffic. Street vendors, who often work without any physical barrier between their stalls and the roadway, are among the most exposed people in those spaces.
It also comes at a moment when Los Angeles is already in the national spotlight for law enforcement. Los Angeles has seen a string of major law-enforcement cases this week: on Monday, a suspect agreed to plead guilty in a Los Angeles federal court in the $100 million Brink’s jewelry heist, the largest in U.S. history. The crash also comes as federal authorities pursue other major investigations, including the arrest of a U.S. Army officer in Britain on suspicion of spying for Russia.
For now, the central question is a simple one that investigators have not yet answered: why did the SUV leave the road. Until the surveillance footage is reviewed and the driver’s evaluation is complete, police say they cannot say whether the crash was an accident, the result of impairment, a medical episode, or something deliberate.
Latest developments
As of Wednesday morning, the investigation was continuing. Police had not released the victims’ names, the driver’s name, or any finding on impairment. The intersection had reopened, and Metro service was running normally.
Investigators are expected to release more information as the surveillance review progresses and as the medical evaluation of the driver is completed. The victims’ identities are likely to be released by the Los Angeles County medical examiner once their families have been notified.
Frequently asked questions
How many people were killed in the North Hollywood crash?
Three people were killed. They were pronounced dead at the scene near the North Hollywood Metro station on Tuesday evening, November 10. Three other people, including the driver, were taken to hospitals.
What caused the SUV to hit the pedestrians?
Investigators have not yet determined the cause. The LAPD said it had not ruled out the possibility that the crash was intentional, and drug recognition experts were evaluating the driver for possible impairment. Police are reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses and the Metro station.
Was the driver arrested?
No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning. The driver, a man in his early 60s, was hospitalized in serious condition after the crash.
Is the North Hollywood Metro station open?
Yes. One entrance to the station was closed on Tuesday night, but the bus and subway stations remained open, according to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
What to watch next
The next updates are likely to come from the LAPD as detectives finish their review of surveillance video and receive the results of the driver’s impairment evaluation. The medical examiner is expected to release the victims’ identities once their families have been notified. Until then, the cause of one of the deadliest pedestrian crashes in Los Angeles this year remains undetermined.
Sources: Associated Press; CBS Los Angeles; KTLA; Los Angeles Fire Department; Los Angeles Police Department; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
