Pregnant woman among 3 killed in Eagle Rock crash; street racing blamed
Two men suffer severed limbs and are hospitalized. All of the dead and injured were in a Nissan that slammed into a tree at high speed late Wednesday. The car was believed to be racing with two others.
An illegal street race Wednesday night in Eagle Rock killed three people, including a pregnant woman and a 12 year-old girl, and severed limbs from two men after their car slammed into a tree and burst into flames, police said.
A 19-year-old man who was driving a Mitsubishi involved in the crash was in custody this morning, Los Angeles police Officer Kate Lopez said today. He was uninjured. A police spokeswoman earlier said the man had been booked on suspicion of murder, but police now say he is still be interviewed.
Police are searching today for another driver they believe was involved in street racing but who fled after the crash, Lopez said.
The crash occurred at Highland View Avenue and Colorado Boulevard about 10:30 p.m. A witness said he saw the Mitsubishi hit a Nissan Maxima, which police believe also was involved in racing. The Nissan, with five people inside, then slammed into a tree on Colorado Boulevard's median and caught fire, Lopez said.
Three men who were ejected from the Nissan landed in the street: a 20-year-old man, who died at the scene; a man whose hand and leg were severed, and another man whose leg was severed at the hip. The two survivors were taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and are listed in critical condition, said LAPD Officer April Harding, another department spokeswoman.
Inside the Nissan was the 12-year-old girl, who was in the back seat, and the 23-year-old late-term pregnant woman, who was found dead in the driver's seat, Harding said.
Los Angeles County coroner's officials said they did not have identifications on the deceased yet.
Colorado Boulevard was closed for about eight hours and officers were still on the scene today as morning traffic rolled over glass and plastic parts from the cars. The tree that the Nissan had hit had blood and scraped bark left on it, and the car looked like a crushed soda can as it was towed away.
John Chavez, 38, who lives nearby, said he heard a "loud thump" at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, went outside and saw "blood and debris everywhere." He saw a "torso" in the middle of the street, another person on the pavement screaming for help, and a woman stuck in the twisted wreckage.
"It was the worst accident I've ever seen," Chavez said. "It was carnage."
