Five Hurt After Car Plows Into Crowd Outside Downey Bar; Driver Arrested
DOWNEY (CBSLA) – A man has been taken into custody on drunken driving charges after he allegedly drove his car into a crowd of people outside a Downey bar early Friday morning, injuring himself and four others.
The collision occurred before 2:15 a.m. outside the Anarchy Library bar, at East Foster Road and Woodruff Avenue.
Witnesses told CBS2 that the suspect, a 28-year-old man, was driving down the street, revving his engine just before he lost control and slammed into the crowd. The car also struck a pole and another car.
"And he revved the engine up just to show off the engine in front of everybody in front of the club, showing off the engine, revving it, driving lightning fast," witness Mark Gonzalez told CBS2. "Then he made a turn on this street going this direction, burning rubber, skidding across the intersection, and then I didn't see him, and then a second later, boom, we heard the crash."
Four pedestrians were hurt, three of whom sustained critical injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire Department confirmed. One of the victims was pinned underneath the car and had to be rescued.
"He got pinned between two cars and he was laying on the ground right there," witness Gregory Jones said. "Personally, it hurts my heart to see anything like that, I had to walk across the street. I couldn't even look any longer."
All four were rushed to a hospital and are expected to survive, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department reports.
The driver was also taken to a hospital with minor injuries and was later booked on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants.
