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REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A woman drove into a group of pedestrians Wednesday night on the Pacific Coast highway, killing one person and leaving several others injured, police said. The crash occurred outside a church where a Christmas service had just ended.
Some of the pedestrians were rushed to hospitals with critical injuries, Redondo Beach police Lt. Joe Hoffman said. One adult died at a hospital, and the injured included at least two children.
Preliminary reports were that as many as a dozen people were injured between the pedestrians and two cars that were involved, but the exact number wasn't yet clear, police said.
The woman was driving a white sedan northbound when she ran a red light, ran into the pedestrians and hit another vehicle after.
"The crosswalk was full and the light was red," witness Marco Zonno told KNBC-TV. "Someone ran the red light and bodies started flying. It was pretty horrible."
The woman was taken in police custody to a hospital, where she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said. They were investigating whether she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The California Highway Patrol was assisting Redondo Beach police in the investigation.
The crash comes three days after another driver now charged with drunken driving injured 11 people who were parked and looking at a holiday light display in the Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra.
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