Drunk Driver Barrels Into Crowd Outside Whisky A Go Go, 3 Hospitalized

WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) — Three men were hospitalized after a drunk driver barreled into a crowd of people outside the world famous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip overnight.

Deputies were called out to 8901 Sunset Blvd. just before midnight after a car was reported to have driven into the nightclub from nearby San Vicente Boulevard.

"We're just talking out here and a car came flying off of San Vicente," Shane Hunter said. "We could hear tires screech, we all looked up and we started running."

The car, which bore a Lyft sticker, was stopped by a pole holding up the Whisky's front door awning. After the crash, it was left with a distinct bend near the ground where the car hit it.

"If it wasn't for that post on the awning on the Whisky right here, it would've killed us, I'm pretty sure," Hunter said.

The men who were hospitalized after the crash have since been released. They appeared to be in good spirits in a photo taken at the hospital.

The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. A deputy on the scene said his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

There was no passenger in the car.

Lyft issued a statement Wednesday via Kaelan Richards, senior policy communications manager.

"Although this individual was not driving on the Lyft platform at the time of the incident, the safety of the community is our top priority. We have permanently removed this individual from the Lyft platform, and stand ready to assist in any law enforcement investigation."