Suspected Drunk Driver Runs Down Group Of Bicyclists
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A suspected drunken driver plowed into a group of bicyclists on a midnight ride Thursday in Los Angeles, injuring 11, one critically, police said.
The riders were in a group of about 100 cyclists that were struck by a white Honda Civic shortly before 2 a.m. about 8 miles south of downtown.
The crash injured 11 riders, including one person who was hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive, said Officer Jacquelyn Abad.
Some bicyclists told KTTV Fox 11 that the woman driving the car appeared to be using a cell phone before the crash. They said she slowed down, then sped up and slammed into the group, sending some riders flying into the air and dragging at least one under her car.
Television reports showed the car's smashed front end and shattered windshield.
The 27-year-old woman was booked for investigation of drunken driving. Her name was not immediately released.
The bikers belonged to "Midnight Ridazz," a Koreatown bicycling group that gets together for weekly midnight rides.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
