Late Wednesday night, a Metro bus turned downtown Los Angeles into a scene of destruction after a hijacking incident ended with a crash into the iconic Ritz-Carlton Hotel, involving multiple vehicle collisions along the way, NBC Los Angeles reported. According to the outlet, at approximately 11:40 p.m., a 24-year-old man brandishing what appeared to be a gun - but was later identified as a BB gun - commandeered the bus, ordering the driver to head to various locations before the mayhem unfolded.
Security and dashcam footage captured the hijacked bus running a red light and slamming into multiple cars, one being another black Mercedes Benz sedan that tried to avoid the collision but ended up entangled in the chaos, and another an SUV near the Ritz-Carlton, as detailed by CBS News Los Angeles. The suspect, Anai Lindsey, subsequently fled on a bicycle before being apprehended by law enforcement roughly an hour after the crash; police later clarified Lindsey as unhoused and facing kidnapping charges, a fact KTLA included in their reporting.
The chaos ended when the bus plowed into the side of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, significantly damaging the building and reportedly disturbing a vault inside, according to statements obtained by KTLA. The Metro bus driver and a woman, who was in one of the struck cars, sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital; their conditions were not immediately made public but were later reported as stable.
Eyewitnesses and videos showed the shocking aftermath, with the heavily damaged bus resting against the hotel facade as authorities began their investigation into the startling sequence of events, police have urged anyone with additional information on the ongoing investigation to reach out to Crime Stoppers, the aftermath of which the Metro line saw disruption and raised concerns over safety on public transportation, as reported by multiple sources.
