2 killed as truck collides with cars, slams into bookstore [UPDATED]

A car-hauling truck collided with several vehicles Wednesday night before slamming into a bookstore in La Cañada Flintridge, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said they have reports of two fatalities and several injuries.

The accident occurred just before 6 p.m. near the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Crest Highway.

Fire Department spokesman Art Marrujo said it was not immediately clear whether the victims were in the bookstore or in the cars involved in the accident.

Fire officials pulled victims out of cars, and television news footage showed the truck embedded in the front of the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffee House.

Updated, 6:36 p.m.: Officials said there are five injured people, including one who was in the bookstore.

Lynn Tran, manager of a nearby gourmet wine and spirit store, said she and other employees were stocking shelves when they heard a loud bang.

"We heard a noise that sounded like an earthquake," she said. "It shook a little bit."

Updated, 6:52 p.m.: Brandi Sjostrom, a waitress at Hill St. Cafe, a few doors away from the crash, provided this description: "I heard the bus braking really hard and everyone ran out. The bus almost came up on our curb. This really small red car was completely crushed. It was pretty awful. I've never seen anything like that. I was pretty shaken up." Sjostrom said a semi-tractor trailer lost its brakes and punched through the restaurant's back wall last year.

-- Andrew Blankstein and Julie Cart

Comments

[Ezequiel]

My friends Marcus and Hillary where heading to the book store when their dog started barking in the car they had to pull over 1 minute before the accident. If they didnt pull over they would have been in the bookstore drinking coffee when the accident happened. Im Glad they are ok. They Just told me that the response time was over 10 minutes for the fire department when there is a Firestation less than 6 blocks away from the Location, The ambulance took another 10 minutes to arrive to the scene.

[E]

Devastating news. Unfortunately until the city comes up with a way to reduce gradient or put up barriers, this will continue to happen in the future as it has done in the past. My heart breaks for the families of those killed.

[Stephen]

I hope to God this isn't another case of a a public transportation bus running a red light, as they do in Los Angeles - which the LAPD does absolutely NOTHING about!

Are you listening Chief Bratton?? The next time you have a sandwich at Langers, feel free to observe how Bus' 18, 200, and 720 continuously run red lights while the LAPD just sit there.

[Chatter]

Yup, I'm going to run, not walk, and buy one of those ultra-efficiecient 50mpg electro-green cars our benevolent leaders have mandated. Just like that red one, except smaller.

The Green Magic will protect mine from killer buses, I'm sure!

[Crash]

what is totally disturbing about this truck accident is that the mayor and city council knew about it. This unnecessary fatal accident could have been prevented. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the two that were killed.

sad sad sad.