At least three people are dead and several others injured after a car crashed Thursday into a grocery store in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the crash occurred around 12:11 p.m. local time on Westwood Boulevard.
Officials confirmed that three people died on the scene.
At a news briefing, an LAFD spokesperson confirmed that nine people were engaged in the incident, prompting calls for more ambulances and emergency resources.
“This is becoming more of a static incident, and it is currently being investigated as an accidental traffic collision,” the representative stated.
“It appears the driver, the elderly driver, was trying to swerve out of the way of a bicyclist and all we know is that that elderly driver in that single vehicle did strike a bicyclist,” he added. “What we do know again is a total of nine patients, three that tragically were deceased, two that are in serious, at least serious condition, two in moderate condition, and two that declined transport.”
The representative later confirmed that there were people trapped underneath the vehicle.
“Firefighters, again, are problem solvers, and they came in and were able to remove that vehicle to gain access to those patients,” he said. “We called for waves of additional firefighter paramedics who rendered immediate medical aid.”
The cause of the incident is still being investigated, however a silver vehicle was spotted inside the store’s front entrance.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.