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Disasters

Three killed when SUV hits people near North Hollywood Metro station

Police say they do not know if the crash was intentional, and the driver in his early 60s is being checked for impairment.

The entrance of North Hollywood Metro station in Los Angeles in 2023
The entrance of North Hollywood Metro station in Los Angeles in 2023. Photo: Busition, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
16 news outlets reported this
Liberal7 outletsOfficials' answers and the open question of intentCenter3 outletsWhat happened, where, and what is confirmedConservative6 outletsScene details and unresolved question of motive
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

A white SUV struck a group of people on a sidewalk next to the North Hollywood Metro station in Los Angeles on Tuesday, just before 6 p.m. Three people, the Los Angeles Fire Department said, were pronounced dead at the scene. At least three others were taken to hospitals in critical condition. The vehicle reportedly hit a food stand or vendor tents near a bus stop at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards.

Victims, Mayor Karen Bass said, included street vendors and pedestrians. LAPD Captain Warner Castillo said officials do not know if the crash was intentional or an accident. He said the motorist, whose identity remains undisclosed, is in the early 60s and is being tested to determine whether he had been under the influence.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators will review video from the area in a "prolonged but very deliberate investigation." The victims have not been identified. La Opinión says no arrests had been reported.

The Los Angeles Police Department's investigation continues.

Key figures
  • Three peoplepronounced dead at the scene, per the fire departmentUPI
  • at least three otherstaken to hospitals in critical conditionUPI
  • at least five peoplestruck by the SUV, per the Los Angeles Police DepartmentThe Seattle Times
  • 5:55 p.m.time of the crash, per the LAFDNewsweek

Three sides of the story

7Liberal3Center6Conservative

16 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal7 outlets

Officials' answers and the open question of intent

The Boston Globe runs the AP report, which opens with three dead and three in critical condition. Police Captain Warner Castillo says, "We don't know if it was done intentionally," and that the driver is being checked for impairment. The Guardian (US) adds Mayor Karen Bass's "heartbroken" post and Chief Jim McDonnell's promise of a "prolonged but very deliberate investigation."

It cites a CBS affiliate for the food stand near a bus stop and describes aerial footage of a partially crumpled small SUV that appeared to have run into a transit shelter. The Independent (US) is a short breaking item, noting that no official details on the circumstances were available yet. La Opinión, in Spanish, reports the 5:55 p.m. time, the driver rescued from the vehicle by firefighters, the first classification as a major traffic collision, and no reported arrests.

Center3 outlets

What happened, where, and what is confirmed

The Seattle Times runs the Associated Press report, the same text the Boston Globe carries. It opens with three dead and three in critical condition after a vehicle hit people beside the metro station. It quotes LAPD Captain Warner Castillo: "We don't know if it was done intentionally, if it was done by accident."

It adds that the driver, in his early 60s, is being examined for impairment. Newsweek frames its piece as "What We Know." It quotes the fire department's update on "circumstances unconfirmed," gives the address as 5350 N Lankershim Blvd, and prints Mayor Karen Bass's full post on X. It also relays a Metro notice that elevator access at the station is unavailable.

UPI leads with at least three dead after an SUV struck at least five pedestrians. It cites an LAPD statement and a separate fire department release, says the driver is in critical condition, and quotes Bass saying she is "heartbroken."

Conservative6 outlets

Scene details and unresolved question of motive

Breitbart News opens with "Chaos erupted" in North Hollywood and relies on KTLA for the three deaths, at least three people in critical condition and the driver, who was alert and speaking to firefighters as he was put in a wheelchair after crews extricated him. It says the vehicle appeared to have been driven into a food vendor's tent and that authorities have not indicated whether the crash was intentional, having classified it as an expanded traffic collision. It closes with a television helicopter crash in Los Angeles nearly two months earlier.

Citing CBS Los Angeles, the Washington Examiner says the LAPD first labeled the event an assault with a deadly weapon, but the driver's motive is not established. It says the specific circumstances remain unclear and that police closed nearby streets. The New York Post gives a short account built on the fire department and KTLA: three pronounced dead, at least three more in critical condition, circumstances "not immediately clear," and an ongoing investigation.

Where outlets disagree
All sources: 29 articles from 16 outlets

Liberal (10)

Center (7)

Conservative (12)

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