A tragic seven-car pileup in East Los Angeles has left a 21-year-old woman dead and triggered an arrest in the early hours of Tuesday. In the chaos that ensued around 12:15 a.m. near the intersection of E Olympic Boulevard and S Vancouver Avenue, a tangled heap of metal bore witness to the violent collision where the California Highway Patrol (CHP) believes that excessive speed played a deadly role, as reported by KTLA.
The CHP said that two of the vehicles were involved in the initial collision and then spiraled into a catastrophic event involving five others that were parked, creating a domino effect of destruction that was captured on video with one pickup truck seen precariously perched atop another vehicle. CHP spokesperson confirmed to KTLA the death of the unidentified woman at the site of the crash another victim who was rushed to the hospital in unknown condition, while details of any additional injuries have yet to be clarified.
Meanwhile, ABC7 has obtained chilling footage showcasing the severity of the wreckage where several cars were found stacked and severely damaged. CHP Public Information Officer William O'Hair noted the catastrophic nature of the scene to ABC7, stating, "If you look at the damage on the vehicles, one of the vehicles is almost undistinguishable, so I'm sure speed was a factor."
The driver of the car in which the young woman was fatally injured, described as a male adult, was arrested at the crash scene, the nature of the charges has yet to be disclosed by authorities. As the investigation unfolds, Officer O'Hair implied that it was too soon to tell if a red light had been run, but affirmed to ABC7 the possibility, adding, "It's still under investigation; it appears the traffic was going eastbound on Olympic when the crash occurred." The area, a tapestry of wreckage and caution signs for hours, was eventually cleared and reopened around 4:30 a.m.
