Third teen arrested in Boyle Heights bus accident that kills 1, injures 21 [Update]

A third person has been arrested in a hit-and-run accident that killed a pedestrian and injured nearly two dozen students on board a school bus traveling through Boyle Heights on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Authorities had earlier reported that two teenage boys in a black BMW had fled the accident scene after running a red light and triggering the accident.

But later in the evening, the California Highway Patrol said, a third youth surfaced at an area hospital seeking treatment for injuries, apparently suffered in the crash.

The three youths –- all hospitalized –- will be taken to juvenile detention after being treated.

The BMW driver and passengers had jumped out of the car and fled, but two of the youths were quickly apprehended by construction workers who had seen the crash, authorities said.

Authorities said they are investigating whether drunk driving might have been involved in the 3:22 p.m. wreck at 1st and Soto streets. All three of the teens in the BMW are juveniles; police did not release their names.

Marco Valdez, 17, a passenger on the bus, told The Times the bus had been coming from the East Los Angeles Skills Center when the car hit a pedestrian and then swerved into the bus. The bus overturned at the entrance to the Metro Gold Line Soto Station.

“Some kids at the front of the bus were bleeding and scraped up, but everybody seemed all right,” Marco said.

Susana Romero, 16, an 11th-grader at Roosevelt High, said she'd been sitting near the back of the bus talking with friends when she heard a “big boom.”

"It made us fly,” she said. “I flipped. I fell to the other side of the bus and then I blacked out.”

When she came to, the bus was on its side and she could hear people crying and moaning. She said there was a lot of broken glass, which seemed to have bloodied a number of students.

“We were all like ‘Are you OK?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Are you OK?’ ‘Yes,’ ” Romero said.

She said she crawled to an emergency door at the back of the bus to get out.

The students were among those speaking at the Hollenbeck police station, where Susana had just been reunited with her mother, Juana Lopez, 39, who was holding her tight. The two live in Boyle Heights.

Earlier, her mother had been shaking and in tears as she waited for news of her daughter.

Dozens of spectators, shopkeepers, parents and others gathered at the accident scene as emergency workers assisted students. Among them was L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

“As a parent, one thing we expect is when our kids go to and from school, they are safe,” said Villaraigosa. “We breathe a sigh of relief today that there were no serious or fatal injuries to the children.”

The bus was carrying 46 students and 20 –- along with the bus driver -- were taken to hospitals. The bus driver was listed in serious condition; the students had non-life-threatening injuries.

[Updated 11:06 p.m. Several passengers in a second second bus suffered injuries when the driver braked sharply to avoid hitting the bus that was struck by the BMW, said police Sgt.  Mitzi Grasso, an LAPD spokeswoman.]

- Sam Allen, Kate Linthicum and Alexandra Zavis

[Correction: An early version referred to the crash site as a Metrolink station]

Comments

[Frink Stink]

“As a parent, one thing we expect is when our kids go to and from school, they are safe,” said Villaraigosa. “We breathe a sigh of relief today that there were no serious or fatal injuries to the children.”

But it's totally OK about the pedestrian?

[LA]

This is horrible but I'm sure none of the injured have health insurance. This is the problem here in this country and state....

[Truth]

Tony Laraza out getting exposure even in a serious time ..........

[Reality Chick]

It's very unusual that the media isn't stating what ethnicity the youths in the BMW are. Guess we have to wait and see if they are the sons of some city officials.

[freeway]

The car was most likely stolen and the little fockers who were in it take off. Useless, spineless, ignorant, mean, uncaring individuals, most likely of the same ethnicity as those on the school bus. A microcosm of what LA has become.

[Michael]

Why were the passengers arrested? The law requires a driver of a vehicle in an accident to remain at the location and exchange identifying information, but the law does not apply to passengers. And it's not against the law to be a passenger who is under the influence.

[Dr. Bryan]

Good thing this isn't San Francisco. All they would have to do is claim to be under 18 and Kamala Harris would send them to a group home in San Bernardino.

[Leland Sklar]

Please let's not sit here once again and talk about them being under age kids driving the BMW. If they ran, they know what they did and should be treated as adults and the penalty should reflect this. There is a human being who has lost their life to these morons and it can never be returned. They too should face the consequences of their actions. Another sad day in LA!

[Alex de Cordoba]

It's not an accident.

[uncle_vito]

Hpe the BMW owner has a few million in insurance. They are going to need it.

[Bobby]

Why would buses be equipped with regular glass and not plexi-glass? In case of a accidents like yesterday where kids were cut by flying glass.

[Kevin]

If we just had seat belts on buses (and forced them to use them, all would be well. Also, the "children" should be forced to wear helmets while riding the bus. They should also be forced to wear elbow and knee pads. How many more children must be hurt?

[Brandon Kerr]

I would love to know the legal status of those involved. In Texas, illegal immigrants have a horrible record of killing innocents with their lack of driving skills.

[linda simeone]

So, the irresponsible youths were driving a BMW, all high and mighty, thinking how cool are they? Well, their coolness just resulted in loss of life and injury and their lives and future are ruined. Why do we not know who they are? Where are their names and the names of their parents? I hope the TIMES does a follow up on this story because lots of people want to know who caused this tragedy. They should not be protected because of their age, that is wrong. They chose to get behind the wheel, now they must face the consequences of their action. I hope the driver gets at least 25 years to life!

[Gloria]

It's not like they were all driving. There was ONE driver. You can't believe everything the media says. The names have been detained because they are minors who have FAMILY as well and they most likely go to the same school AND there is still an investigation going on. Sure the buses need seat belts but WHAT ABOUT THE KILLED PEDESTRIAN? We can't forget about his innocent life being taken away because a stupid action of a teenager. How do you guys know the other two teen passengers were at fault of the drivers action? YOU DON'T! I agree with Micheal about the passengers being arrested.

[Josephine]

Some juveniles can really be very irresponsible. The teens riding the BMW should be detained so they could learn from their mistake and reform. It was just fortunate that the students in the bus were only injured and nothing more fatal took place. At least, the bus driver had the presence of mind to prioritize the welfare of the kids under his care.