3 dead after car hits crowd in North Hollywood

Breaking news now at eight, at least three people are dead, multiple others injured after a car slammed into several people at a metro station in North Hollywood. This is Sky Fox live above the scene right there. You can see it. This is the intersection there in North Hollywood. We heard officials speaking just a short time ago talking about the three dead, three others critically injured and taken to a nearby hospital, the 5300 block. Right there. And we know that that is at an intersection, very busy right there by the metro. And according to what we were able to ascertain, people had gathered around that metro station when witnesses said all of a sudden this car seemed to come almost out of nowhere. And this happened around six o'clock, a busy rush hour time in Southern California near Lancashire Boulevard and Chandler. You think of the metro station, people coming and going, getting off of work, possibly going home from work, and it's just a tragic scene right there. So we're going to get more information on this, and with that, we do welcome you to the LA Live News tonight. I'm Christine Devine. Thank you for joining us. I'm Laura Diaz. It happened just before 6 o'clock on Lankershim Boulevard near Chandler. Fox 11's Ed Lasco, live at the scene with the very latest at this hour. Ed. Now, Christine, a horrible, horrible situation here. Three people lose their lives. Two others also hit by that out-of-control vehicle, rushed to the ER, critical condition. The third person who was rushed to the ER actually was the driver of that out-of-control vehicle himself. Joe, into this terrible story we go. All blocked off. First responders have this entire area. This is, if you're looking on Lankershim, it's the south side of Lankershim. Across here is Chandler. If you're familiar with the area, that is the... The red line subway exit and entrance over there to the right, the metro station, and then something you always never want to see is the grim sign of those tents, those white tents covering the bodies of the three victims here. That car, according to witnesses, came carrying a high rate of speed. One of the witnesses telling me he felt a whoosh as that vehicle went by, a blink of an eye, and all of a sudden it ran up into the sidewalk by the metro station. And that is an area, if you're familiar with this spot here, where you have a lot of food vendors. The food stands are set up right on that sidewalk. And, Christine, Laura, as you were saying, a lot of folks ride the subway, the metro here. They get out, they maybe catch a bus to continue their afternoon commute or evening commute. But in any event, they would stop there and get a quick bite to eat on their commute. Maybe as their commute ended. So it was very busy. Just about five minutes before six o'clock tonight. The heart of the evening rush hour. So that sidewalk was packed. We're hearing from witnesses from a lot of folks. Getting out of the metro station, maybe in line to get some food, and all of a sudden this vehicle comes and jumps the curb and slams right into that crowd. We've been listening to the briefing from investigators. They have no idea why. They say the driver, a man in his mid-60s, he had to be extricated from the vehicle, rushed also to the ER. They don't know why, what happened. Was it a medical emergency? Was it intentional? No idea yet. Investigators are working on that from LAPD. They're trying to figure out why, what happened. They know that the three people People who were hit and killed were right in that area where those food stands are. It happened so quickly in just a matter of seconds, as one of the witnesses said, no chance for anybody, even the runner, to get out of the way. Two others, they're still alive, rushed to the ER, critical condition. We've been hearing from a lot of folks here. We heard from LAPD Chief Jim McDonald and other commanders and chiefs handling all of this. Also, the councilmen involved in this area. As you know, this is North Hollywood. This is the Arts District, always busy here, very busy. It's the very heart. of North Hollywood and that's why this tragedy really hits home listen it is a very close-knit community this is the heart of North Hollywood area this is the Arts District right here so there's always commotion there's always activity there's always people going to restaurants coming off of the terminus the interchange of the red line for the orange line so this is a very active place so It's extremely concerning when you hear something like this happen.