3 Teens Seriously Injured -- 1 Critically -- After Being Struck By Vehicle In NoHo
NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Three teenage girls Wednesday were struck by an out-of-control Prius and seriously hurt in North Hollywood.
One of the injured was on life support Wednesday evening at Northridge Hospital. The other two victims are in serious condition at Cedars-Sinai, officials said.
The accident occurred around 1:35 p.m. in the 11400 block of Magnolia Boulevard as a driver exited the southbound 170 Freeway, police said.
The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle and struck the teens before striking other vehicles, police said.
The victims were 14 years old and students of the private Oakwood School.
Witness Fernando Serna said, "There was a group of girls yelling in terror."
"Two of the girls were conscious and were trying to get up. They were trying to get mobile. People were trying to help them stay put. One of the girls was not in a moveable state. She looked pretty twisted up and everyone was pretty scared for her," Serna added.
The students were on their way back to the school following a PE class in a nearby park when they were struck.
The driver, who complained of brake failure, remained at the scene while officials investigated. He was clearly distraught and crying uncontrollably as he talked to police and investigators.
"We are going to do a full vehicle forensic analysis on that. So we will take the entire vehicle apart and look at that allegation," said Leland Tang with the CHP.
"This whole intersection, the freeway onramps and offramps, we've been here over 30 years and it's just a dangerous place," said Karen Covell, a North Hollywood resident. "It's a tragedy, I feel bad for the families so much."
