Violent crash in Los Angeles leaves tamale vendor in critical condition

A person selling tamales on the street was one of three people rushed to the hospital following a brutal crash in Los Angeles’ Koreatown on Monday morning.  

According to preliminary information later confirmed by Los Angeles Fire Department officials, the incident occurred just before 6 a.m. at the intersection of Western Avenue and 3^rd Street.

Two vehicles appeared to T-bone each other and then collide with a pedestrian.  

“It looks like two vehicles collided, and during the collision, they hit somebody on the sidewalk,” LAFD Public Information Officer Cpt. Adam VanGerpen told KTLA. “They were struck as a tamale server sitting on the sidewalk.” 

The other patients included two adults and a minor; all but one were taken to a hospital, Cpt. Van Gerpen said, and while their exact conditions were not immediately known, they were not said to be critical.  

Aerial footage obtained by Sky5 shows debris littering 3rd Street as crews cleared the scene and evaluated the drivers.

The two sedans involved, a black Chevy Volt and a red Kia Stinger, ended up a fair way from each other on opposite sides of the street, which indicates that speed may have played a role in the crash, according to Cpt. Van Gerpen. 

“It looks like speed was definitely a factor…there are a lot of skid marks,” he said. “People need to just slow down, especially since this happened just before six in the morning.” 

The intersection of Western and 3^rd is expected to be closed for several hours as the collision is investigated. 

KTLA photojournalist Chris Gierowski contributed to this report.

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