Chaos erupted on the Sunset Strip Friday afternoon when an out-of-control dump truck crashed into the famed Whisky a Go Go music venue in West Hollywood. The accident occurred at around 1:40 p.m. when the unmanned truck, loaded with dirt, rolled downhill after a brake failure, according to reports from ABC7.
The vehicle barreled down toward Sunset Boulevard, hitting a 50-foot power pole and five vehicles before slamming into the rear of the legendary music club. Officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the truck had been left unattended as a crew loaded it with dirt when the brakes failed, sending it careening down the hill.
Power was knocked out across a block surrounding the venue, and multiple parked cars were damaged. Inside the building, employees and patrons were shaken by the impact. “The entire building shook violently,” said venue worker Liliana Seidel. “A lot of us thought it was an earthquake at first. We thought a bomb went off, then the power just cut immediately throughout the building.”
The crash prompted road closures at Sunset Boulevard and Clark Street as emergency crews responded to the scene. Electrical crews were also deployed to restore service to the affected area, as noted by KTLA.
The evening show featuring alternative rock band Boy Hits Car was canceled due to the damage and outage. “Everyone is ok, but the show at @thewhiskyagogo tonight is cancelled,” the band confirmed on social media. Guitarist Craig Rondell noted the irony of the group’s name, commenting to ABC7, “ band because it seems like something like this always happens. But, you just roll with it, it's rock n' rolln’ roll.”
Despite the chaos, no serious injuries were reported. A USPS worker narrowly escaped injury by jumping out of their truck just before the dump truck collided with it, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Cleanup and repair efforts were underway, with venue staff expressing hope that operations could resume by Saturday.
