Driver facing parking ticket plows into crowd at L.A. park
Four people were injured, two of them critically, when a motorist trying to avoid a parking ticket drove backward through MacArthur Park and plowed into a group of pedestrians Thursday, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m., and the driver was taken to the hospital, Officer Aareon Jefferferson said.
The driver was questioned by police but later released. Investigators have concluded he was not under the influence at the time of the crash, Capt. Andrew Neiman said.
News footage from KTLA showed a group of paramedics and firefighters treating four people sprawled on the grass under a tree inside the northwest corner of the park next to a sidewalk. One by one, the patients were wheeled into ambulances and taken to L.A. CountyUSC Medical Center.
According to police, the driver of the truck was at a meter along Park View Street when he was approached by Department of Transportation ticketing officers. Before the officers reached him however, the driver shifted the truck into reverse and drove several hundred yards into the park, destroying a parking meter and hitting four people, Jefson said.
Not far from the crash scene, parkgoer Justyna Sawicka said she knew the driver well. He would usually park under the shade of trees on Park View, she said, and lived out of his truck.
He had lived in the area for the last two years, she said, and would never crash into people intentionally.
“I feel like it’s a dream,” she said as she wiped tears from her eyes. “He’s a nice
person.”
Down by the lake, Cody Egan walked his two boxers and surveyed the crash scene. A lot of homeless people rest in that area, he said, adding that many parkgoers drink in the area and cause a ruckus.
About a dozen police officers searched the scene at about 2 p.m. to determine the trajectory of the vehicle and to survey the damage.
Plastic bags, torn clothing, a backpack and wornout shoes were spread throughout patches of grass, dirt and leaves.
Officers said the clothing belonged to the injured. It’s unclear whether the victims are homeless.
The black Dodge pickup, with a camper shell, was parked nearby on the sidewalk. Police took a dog that was in the truck with the driver, officials said.
All four of the injured were described as men 24 to 35 years old. The driver’s age was not immediately known, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.