2 killed when minivan crashes into Metro bus during LAPD pursuit

Two people were killed and two others were injured when a minivan attempting to evade a police pursuit crashed into a Metro bus Sunday near downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.

At around 5 a.m., patrolling officers spotted someone throw a gun from a green minivan in the area of the 110 Freeway and Central Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division reported.

Officers tried to pull the minivan over, which prompted a pursuit that lasted for about one to two minutes, ending when the minivan crashed into a Metro bus in the area of Main and 17th streets, police said.

Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched at 5:11 a.m. to the 100 block of East 17th Street, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene. One person had to be extracted from the wreckage, and three people were rushed to a hospital.

One of those taken to the hospital later died, police said. The injuries to the driver of the minivan and another passenger do not appear to be life-threatening, police said, adding that the tossed handgun was eventually recovered.

The Metro bus operator, the lone person aboard the vehicle, declined treatment or ambulance transportation, according to fire department officials.