What to Know
- Eight people were injured in the early morning crash near the Orpheum Theatre
- None of the injuries are considered life-threatening
- Witnesses waiting in a nearby line described the alarming sounds of the bus colliding with the SUV, a tree and pole
Eight people were injured early Wednesday morning when a sport utility vehicle collided with a Metro bus that careened into a traffic light before coming to a stop on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk.
The crash was reported at about 1 a.m. in the 900 block of South Broadway.
The collision caused the bus, with five people and the driver aboard, to strike and knock down a street light. The bus came to a stop on the sidewalk, bending a metal security gate in front of a building entrance.
Several people were standing on the sidewalk, but none were struck by the bus after it jumped the curb and struck a tree and pole, which fell onto the back of a parked car. Debris was scattered along Broadway under the bright light of the Orpheum Theatre marquee.
"I heard a crash, but this crash kept going and going and going," said witness Oscar Esquivel. "It almost felt like a train was coming."
The sporty utility vehicle ended up crashing head-on into a planter.
One of the drivers likely went through a red light, crash investigators told NBC4. The bus was equipped with front-facing video cameras.
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None of the patients' injuries were considered life-threatening, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two patients, including the SUV driver who suffered a broken leg, were in serious condition. The other victims were in fair condition.
