Innocent Man Killed, 3 Hurt After Pursuit Ends In Violent Crash In Koreatown
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – An innocent man was killed and three others were hurt when a car carrying human trafficking suspects caused a multivehicle wreck in Koreatown during a police pursuit late Thursday night.
"I was like, wow. The car...there is so much damage to the car. I don't know how fast the guy was going," said a neighbor who did not want to show his face, but heard the impact of the deadly crash.
The collision occurred at West 6th Street and South Wilton Place at around 11:35 p.m. Two men in their 20s were arrested.
Los Angeles police were conducting a human trafficking investigation when a pursuit involving a Mercedes sedan carrying the two suspects began at North Gramercy Place and Beverly Boulevard.
The pursuit lasted only about two minutes before the Mercedes slammed into three other vehicles.
An innocent man in his 20s who was driving a pickup truck died at the scene, police said. He was not immediately identified and is believed to be in his 30's.
Two other drivers were rushed to nearby hospitals with critical injuries. A passenger in the pickup truck was also taken to a hospital, but has since been released.
Video from the scene showed police ordering the two suspects out of their crashed Mercedes. Both were also taken to hospitals for treatment before being taken into custody. Their names were not released.
"This is tragic, unfortunately this could have been avoided if the suspects would have just pulled over," LAPD Sgt. Bruce Borihanh told CBSLA.
A possible female victim of the human trafficking investigation was also contacted by officers, police said. She was safe and was being questioned. The exact details of the investigation were not immediately disclosed.
