Accident leaves 2 pedestrians dead, 1 critical [UPDATED]

A two-car accident killed a pedestrian and critically injured two others Tuesday night, authorities said.

The collision occurred near the intersection of Fountain and La Brea avenues, on the border of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, according to d'Lisa Davies of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Davies said the accident occured at 6:24 p.m, killing a 65-year-old woman at the scene. The other pedestrians, a man and woman in their 50s, were hospitalized in critical condition, she said. The drivers of the two cars suffered minor injuries.

It was unclear if the pedestrians were struck in the street or on a sidewalk, Davies said.

Updated, 9:31 p.m.: Officials are reporting that a second woman has died as a result of the crash. Sgt. Chris Tatar of the West Hollywood sheriff's station said that a second,  unidentified woman died after being taken to a local hosptial, while a third victim, an unidentified man, remained in critical condition.

Tatar said the victims were in a pedestrian crosswalk when they were struck. At least two cars were involved, he said, and one vehicle struck the pedestrians after it collided with a second vehicle and kept on going. 

-- Julie Cart

Comments

[Fact Checker]

The evening news is saying that "two elderly women" were struck, and one killed. Said one was in her 70's, Now we learn that there was in fact a 65-year old women and a man and woman in their 50's -- if that's "elderly" to news reporters, it's pretty depressing to the rest of us who don't feel old at 50!

[Local Resident]

That freaking intersection ... the light is too fast. There's always cars lined up there during rush hour because it's never green for long enough. Everyone who wants to turn left has to linger in the intersection, wait for the light to turn red (because there's never a break in the oncoming traffic), and then they can finish their left turn. There are ALWAYS people making a left too late.

[Stella]

This is awful. I work right by there and people run that traffic light every single day! The city must put in a left turn light from Fountain onto La Brea. This is not the first accident here, nor will it be the last.

My thoughts are with the families of the victims.

[ubrayj02]

I find it remarkable that "a car wreck" caused these deaths. I sure hope that cars stop wrecking themselves.

I wonder how they keep on wrecking themselves ... of wait there it is, in at the bottom of paragraph 3: "The drivers of the two cars suffered minor injuries". Well I'm glad for that. With two out of control cars with minds of their own, obviously driving themselves, I'd hate for the reporter to consider that these drivers were in some way at fault for killing people.

[Bill G]

At least two cars were involved, he said, and one vehicle struck the pedestrians after it collided with a second vehicle and kept on going.

So another hit and run from an uninsured motorist, when will this madness end?

[S. Clodsdale]

I've been at this intersection and have seen numerous accidents first-hand. I think there have been many accidents in the past two years that have resulted in fatalities.

I agree with the posts above and think that the city must put a signal there.

[Ann]

That corner has cameras. I am sure it took photos of the accident. The driver of the car that hit the pedestrians and kept on going is going to need a serious lawyer to stay out of jail.

[steve h]

This intersection has too many blind curves and the local community drive like maniacs. Young Russian and Armenian drivers like to pretend its a drag strip around here. The "Jons"
sign at the corner of La Brea and Fountain has been wiped out and rebulit two or three times from accidents. A wrongful death lawsuit should be filed against the City of LA, City of West Hollywood, Councilman Tom LaBonge and Council Presidnet Eric Gracetti (the intersection borders all of these districts) for ignoring the situation for so long and their gross negligence of the communtiy.

[Raul]

I cycled into work yesterday and I was at that intersection just two hours before this tragic accident. The intersection is really bad and I see a lot of vehicles accelerate just to beat the light which is very short. Something needs to be done so that this does not happen again. The sad part is that two people had to lose their lives.

My heart goes out to the families of those victims.

[Raul]

This was the same intersection where a pickup truck slammed into the Edible Arrangements store last year, taking out a pillar in the building, and it's also the same one where Shia LaBoeuf overturned his vehicle. A bad, bad intersection.

[Kent]

The real issue is that it's an issue of wreckless driving. Regardless of how long/short a signal is or if more signals need to be in place, we accept drivers who push the limits and then ask that more amenities be in place so we can better aid these jerks (which often include ourselves...that me too). Want a real solution? Anyone that speeds, is caught without insurance, runs a light, DUI,etc...you can't drive for 6 years and jail time is included. Have serious enforcement of existing laws, I had a friend who was stopped on three separate occasion on her drive home for suspected DUI and let off by each LAPD officer. Yeah she was plowed but they didn't have time or wanted to deal with it. My partner had beer all over the dashboard and empty bottles in the back, and the LAPD let her go (sure we were happy about it, but the reality is we got away with it and it only means you will keep trying to get away with it). But most of us will accept 45K + fatalities a year (mostly due to wreakless driving) and 3 million injuries, 2+ million a year that are permanent so we can keep on keeping on. You think it's a tragedy, then deal with the truth of why it happens, not ask for a frigin signal. It's most always an issue of someone wanting to drive the way they want to drive, not that they need more time getting through an intersection.

[Douglas]

i saw these people laying on the concrete yesterday.
i wish i could have done more to help them....

If you drive Please be careful, things like this dont have to happen.

[Mark]

Two of the victims were mother and son just waiting on the sidewalk to cross the street. This intersection is by far the worst in West Hollywood. City absolutely must do something about that intersection!

[Nicole]

this intersection is horrible. i used to walk through it every morning on my way to work.

i've seen a car go through the edible arrangments store and a car go through the jon's grocery sign. IT DEFINITELY NEEDS A NEW SIGNAL.

[Paul C.]

I live right by this intersection. This entire area, from Fairfax to Highland, Hollywood to 3rd, is insanely packed with cars. The posted speeds are 35mph yet every day cars go 60, 70mph on Fountain and punch it to beat the signal. There are cameras on this intersection but they are turned off.

What the city needs is to install (and turn on) not only cameras to catch people running signals, but also what they have in many cities in Canada and Europe: speed trap cameras. No cops are needed. Just have the cameras snap shots of any car going too fast and start sending out tickets. Get some of these idiots off the roads, make our neighborhoods safer, and make it possible to cross the damn street in a crosswalk without some monster driving their car through you.

[Holly]

I personally think that this deadly intersection is being caused by a shortened yellow light.
As there is nothing out of the ordinary regarding the intersection. It may NOT have a left turn signal, but then again, how many intersections do out here in LA? Which is a strange oddity in itself. So what makes this standard intersection any different than another intersection that has no left turn signal? And again, I believe the answer is 'shortened yellow light'. And I think that it has been shortened as a "trap" to catch people going thru a red light.
Has anyone else noticed how incredibly short this yellow light is? After this latest accident, I am definitely wanting to investigate this more. I'd love to time the yellow light at this intersection. And then time the yellow light at a comparable intersection.

[Sara Heller]

"At least two cars were involved, he said, and one vehicle struck the pedestrians after it collided with a second vehicle and kept on going.

So another hit and run from an uninsured motorist, when will this madness end?"

Talk about a jump to conclusions.

My sister was driving the black car that was struck by the red car. The red car then lost control and hit the pedestrians. It didn't stop on initial impact, it kept going. No one hit anyone and then tried to flee.

[Mash]

The city needs to take off the cameras in that intersection. Every city that has these things has seen an increase in fatalities because people either brake suddenly or accelerate not to get a ticket. Same thing with speed traps. Some Arizona highway recently saw its speed traps removed, because fatalities increased by 16% since the installation of the traps.

They also need to put a turning arrow there. La Brea is a major street and it's sometimes impossible to drive in the left lane on Fountain because people are trying to turn onto La Brea. But first, get rid of the pernicious cameras. They cause more harm than good.

[Brian Bowman]

It continues to pervade me that negligent drivers get away with murder literally in the City of Los Angeles. I live on a residential block of WEHO and everyday there is a fender bender with some do--- trying to get somewhere too fast because their time is more valuable than your life. I rarely drive and can tell you that until we do something about these drivers taking a stroll in Los Angeles is almost just as bad as taking a walk in Kabul. The other comment is if you voted for Villaraigosa that was part of the problem he continues to funnel money away from safety teams in L.A. to finance his own celebrity agenda. lets all take videocameras on street corners in Los Angeles and show Sacramento what really goes on..

[Allie]

I used to live right by this intersection and it's so, so awful. Only a few weeks ago was a terrible accident involving a motorcycle and a car. I heard and saw a man on the ground screaming out in pain. i agree with whoever says the city is to blame. I would cross the street and there's barely enough time for a pedestrian to even speed walk across the street. What a horribly conceived corner, and AGREE that the traffic ticket cameras have GOT to go. They make people erratic trying to not get a ticket. My god, im so sorry for these people and their families.

[Megan]

My friends and myself arrived on the scene shortly after the accident. I am from another state but am trained and certified in first aid and cpr. I saw that one of the ladies needed cpr immediately but the 'sheriff' wouldn't let me administer any medical attention. They wouldn't even let me touch the victims. I am confused. Is California not covered under the Good Samaritan law? I am aware that all of the victims sustained internal injuries, but am sure that they would have had a better chance of surviving if they could have received medical attention before waiting for emt's or medical personnel to arrive.

[Art Fein]

This from my website, sofein.com:

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, I found La Brea blocked at Fountain due to a traffic accident. That night I saw on the news that a young guy driving south turned west and struck a car heading east on Fountain and rammed that car into the curb killing two women. Nothing about this - not an everyday occurence - in the paper. Too much Britney news that day, or was he somebody’s son? (This just in: sleuth “Todd” found it on “L.A. Now,” the electronic L.A. Times. However, that report, from within hours of the accident, never was updated to say exactly what happened, names of victims, drivers, etc. The only advantage of online news is that it can be constantly updated as facts are revealed. Not on L.A. Now, however.)