2 Hospitalized After Truck Shears Hydrant, Plows Into Bell Apartment

BELL (CBSLA) — Two people, including a child, were hospitalized after the truck they were in sheared a fire hydrant, then plowed into a Bell apartment Tuesday night.

Since the crash at Gage and Alamo Avenue after 10:20 p.m., five people have been displaced from the home, which has been red-tagged.

Police say the driver somehow lost control, clipped a light pole, sheared a fire hydrant, then slammed into the apartment. The driver had to be extricated from the truck. A passersby trying to help get everyone out of the truck said he also saw a female passenger yelling for help.

"We couldn't get through the water pressure because it was too hard," neighbor Jose Luevanos said.

The driver is reportedly in critical condition at St. Francis Medical Center.

A family was inside the apartment at the time of the crash, and a boy was seen being wheeled away in a stretcher.

Firefighters eventually turned the water to the hydrant off, and all that's left of the hydrant is a hole in the ground.

The gaping hole in the apartment, now covered boarded up, has been red-tagged. The American Red Cross is assisting five people who have been displaced from the apartment.

Police say they believe speed was a factor in the collision, but are investigating whether drugs are alcohol are involved.