LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s patrol car on an emergency call ran onto a sidewalk, killing two small boys and critically injuring their mother, authorities said Friday.
Two other people in a crosswalk were also injured in the Thursday night crash in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.
A makeshift memorial of flowers, stuffed animals and candles marked the spot on Friday.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and all those affected by this tragic accident” according to a Sheriff’s Department statement. The department said it is cooperating with a Los Angeles police investigation.
The crash occurred at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday at a Whittier Boulevard intersection as deputies were responding to a report of a gunshot victim, Los Angeles city police Capt. Alfonso Lopez said.
The deputies’ sport utility vehicle collided with another car, ran off the road and hit the woman and her two boys, ages 7 and 9. One child died at the scene and the other at a hospital, authorities said.
The other car hit a third car that struck two adults in a crosswalk, according to the Sheriff’s Department statement.
They and two sheriff’s deputies were treated for minor injuries.
The mother remained hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. Her name wasn’t immediately released.
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