A woman and a 10 year old girl have been injured after a LA County Metro bus collided with a truck and a car in Hollywood on Tuesday.
The accident occurred at around 8am on Tuesday morning, when a semi-truck set off a chain reaction pile up that lead to the two injuries. The semi-truck, later described as a dump truck, was parked on the side of the road in the 7600 block of West Hollywood Boulevard, when it suddenly rolled into the highway in the path of incoming traffic. The truck was unoccupied at the time, and it is thought that the driver neglected to put on his parking brake.
The semi-truck collided with an LA County Metro passenger bus that was heading Westbound along the highway. Due to the force of the collision, the bus was knocked off course and in turn crashed into a silver BMW sedan, which was occupied by a woman and her ten year old daughter. There were approximately 27 passengers on the bus at the time of the incident, none of whom were injured. A number of passengers were however transported to a local hospital to be examined for injuries, but were later discharged.
According to Brian Humphrey, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman, eye witnesses report that the semi-truck T-boned the bus sending in into the eastbound lane.
The woman driver of the BMW was trapped inside the wreckage of her vehicle, and had to be extricated by emergency rescue personnel. Once she was freed, she was transported to a local hospital where she remains in a serious condition. The ten year old girl was admitted to a Children’s Hospital and is currently in a stable condition, according to Metropolitan Transport Authority spokesman Marc Littman.
Hollywood Boulevard was closed between Curson and Fairfax avenues for some hours after the accident while the wreckage was cleared from the scene and police began an investigation into the incident.
According to Metropolitan Transportation Authority personnel, a thorough investigation will be conducted into the accident to determine the cause of the incident and liability for the injuries and damage to property that resulted. It is as yet unknown who was responsible for the unoccupied dump truck, and further enquiries will be made in this regard. The driver of the dump truck may be found liable for the injuries incurred if negligence was found to be the cause of the incident.