The Mercedes blew a red light at Slauson, moving so quickly that the victims had nowhere to go to avoid the chain reaction crash. Toni Guinyard reports for Today in LA on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.
Editor's Note: Authorities have announced the arrest of the driver, a 37-year-old nurse from Texas, in connection with the crash. She remains hospitalized. Read the latest story here.
Six people including a baby and a pregnant woman were killed in a fiery crash involving at least six cars at an intersection in Los Angeles' Windsor Hills area.
Shocking new surveillance footage of the crash shows a seemingly normal intersection, with the flow of traffic going at a reasonable pace, before a black Mercedes sedan comes plowing through a red light like a rocket.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
The crash was reported just before 2 p.m. at La Brea and Slauson avenues. The CHP and coroner said six people, including a baby and pregnant woman, were killed in the crash and fires.
Nine people total were injured.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
One person declined transportation to the hospital. Eight others were taken to the hospital for their injuries.
"I saw things flying through the air in the explosion. Then all of a sudden, a baby flew in the air, all the way from the middle of the road to my pump, and landed on the floor," Veronica Esquivel, a witness who was pumping gas at the time of the horrific crash, said.
Esquivel said she was crying hysterically as she picked up the baby, and tried to help. The child did not survive.
Six children and one adult suffered minor injuries. The youngest of those children was just 13 months old, and the others were ages 8, 11, 13, 14 and 15, according to the CHP and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Those patients were reportedly "in good condition" and discharged Thursday night
A second adult, the 37-year-old driver of the Mercedes, had major injuries, authorities said. Multiple sources told NBC4 on Thursday night that that driver is a nurse, believed to be from outside Southern California.
The eighth patient, according to UCLA health on Thursday night, remained under evaluation and was in fair condition.
The six dead were declared so on scene, as confirmed by the coroner. Their ages have not yet been confirmed, and aside from the pregnant woman their genders are also unknown.
At around 8 p.m. CHP gave an update that an additional body was found in one of the vehicles that had been engulfed in flames, increasing the fatality count to six. The total count of six from the CHP and coroner includes a fetus.
Two of the three burned cars came to a stop under a fuel station sign. Another appeared to have rolled onto its roof near the gas station entrance in the community about 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Video from a witness showed a column of black smoke rising from one of the cars.
Another witness said one of the drivers appeared to be making a left turn before the crash.
"Those two right there exploded, just fire everywhere," the witness said.
Debris was scattered in the intersection, where several ambulances were staged.
NBC4 asked the CHP if the driver of the Mercedes was under the influence when the crash occurred. The CHP stated that she was initially given so much pain medication that a proper drug evaluation on-site would not have been possible.
