Chain
February 4th, 2006, 03:34 AM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20060203-1707-ca-cliniccrash.html
5:07 p.m. February 3, 2006
A police officer examines the scene of the crash.
LOS ANGELES – The patients were lining up at the medical clinic, just like any weekday. Up the street, a white Lincoln and a black Nissan were turning a slice of blacktop into an illegal raceway, dueling at 90 mph.
Suddenly, the cars clipped each other and the Nissan veered wildly out of control and rocketed into a street-corner clinic, leaving 13 people injured, six critically.
Witnesses said one woman had her legs severed; another lost one of her legs.
“You just saw bones and blood all over,” said Ana Rodriguez, a medical assistant at a clinic across the street.
By the time police arrived, all that was visible from the street was the tail end of the black Nissan ZX buried in drywall and a tangle of steel. Tires were scattered and a single blue sneaker was left behind on the sidewalk.
The midmorning crash Friday left behind a chaotic scene of shrieking people and confusion. Dozens of firefighters and police rushed to the scene, and victims were treated on the street outside.
Amani Eldessouky, a doctor who works in a clinic across the street, said she saw a woman whose legs had been severed. Another woman who lost one leg, and a man was bleeding profusely from the head, witnesses said.
“It was a terrible scene. I wanted to start shaking,” Eldessouky said.
Ten of the injured, including two twin girls, were taken to five hospitals. Two of those victims were released later Friday; their names were not available, police said.
Six of the victims were in critical condition, said Fire Department Assistant Chief Ralph Terrazas.
Three others were treated and released earlier.
The driver of the Nissan, Ijumaa Owens, 33, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody. He was not believed to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, said police Lt. Paul Vernon.
Owens could face felony reckless driving charges and vehicular manslaughter, if any of the victims die. The occupants of the Town Car fled the scene and were being sought for felony hit and run, he said.
Witnesses saw the two cars racing south on Vermont Avenue, the Town Car in the outermost of three lanes and the Nissan in the lane nearest the curb, when both tried to move into the middle lane, Vernon said.
“At that point the Lincoln Town Car clipped into the Nissan; the Nissan veered into this medical clinic,” Vernon said.
About 50 firefighters responded to the crash, treating victims in the street outside the three-story building, which has apartments on the floors above the clinic.
5:07 p.m. February 3, 2006
A police officer examines the scene of the crash.
LOS ANGELES – The patients were lining up at the medical clinic, just like any weekday. Up the street, a white Lincoln and a black Nissan were turning a slice of blacktop into an illegal raceway, dueling at 90 mph.
Suddenly, the cars clipped each other and the Nissan veered wildly out of control and rocketed into a street-corner clinic, leaving 13 people injured, six critically.
Witnesses said one woman had her legs severed; another lost one of her legs.
“You just saw bones and blood all over,” said Ana Rodriguez, a medical assistant at a clinic across the street.
By the time police arrived, all that was visible from the street was the tail end of the black Nissan ZX buried in drywall and a tangle of steel. Tires were scattered and a single blue sneaker was left behind on the sidewalk.
The midmorning crash Friday left behind a chaotic scene of shrieking people and confusion. Dozens of firefighters and police rushed to the scene, and victims were treated on the street outside.
Amani Eldessouky, a doctor who works in a clinic across the street, said she saw a woman whose legs had been severed. Another woman who lost one leg, and a man was bleeding profusely from the head, witnesses said.
“It was a terrible scene. I wanted to start shaking,” Eldessouky said.
Ten of the injured, including two twin girls, were taken to five hospitals. Two of those victims were released later Friday; their names were not available, police said.
Six of the victims were in critical condition, said Fire Department Assistant Chief Ralph Terrazas.
Three others were treated and released earlier.
The driver of the Nissan, Ijumaa Owens, 33, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody. He was not believed to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, said police Lt. Paul Vernon.
Owens could face felony reckless driving charges and vehicular manslaughter, if any of the victims die. The occupants of the Town Car fled the scene and were being sought for felony hit and run, he said.
Witnesses saw the two cars racing south on Vermont Avenue, the Town Car in the outermost of three lanes and the Nissan in the lane nearest the curb, when both tried to move into the middle lane, Vernon said.
“At that point the Lincoln Town Car clipped into the Nissan; the Nissan veered into this medical clinic,” Vernon said.
About 50 firefighters responded to the crash, treating victims in the street outside the three-story building, which has apartments on the floors above the clinic.