A four-year-old boy was killed on Thursday after a driver plowed through the apartment where he and his family reside. His family was also injured in the accident.
The apartment is said to be located in South Los Angeles and the driver was identified only as a 24-year-old woman who is believed to have been intoxicated when her car crashed. She was headed north on South Central Avenue at around 12:16 a.m.
The driver told officials that another driver cut her off and her car swerved leading to the crash into the apartment, Los Angeles Times reported. However, she was taken into custody after it was found out that she was driving under the influence.
As per the surveillance video, the vehicle crashing into the apartment was partly caught. Investigators were still trying to determine whether another vehicle was involved and that the driver of that vehicle might have just fled the scene.
The boy, his two sisters and his parents were inside the apartment where the car crashed. The boy's father and the boy were trapped beneath the vehicle. The two girls were also injured while the mother was thrown into the wall. The two girls were still able to ask neighbors for help and were screaming to help their mother.
Los Angeles Fire Department Spokesman, Brian Humphrey, said that they had to work through the ruble to rescue the boy and his father. He said, "The 4-year-old was most severely trapped." The boy was said to be pinned under his father.
ABC 7 reported that when officials were going through the apartment, they found a hand written note from the four-year-old boy. It was a letter to Santa Claus as he was asking for a bicycle.
A neighbor named Maritza Garcia said that she felt and heard the crash. She rushed outside to try and help because the girls were screaming. LAPD Sgt. Rafael Quesada regarded the incident as a senseless loss and appealed to the masses that they have to be responsible when partying, drinking and driving. Meanwhile, no charges have been filed yet.
