The latest: Horrific sidewalk crash claims three lives outside North Hollywood transit hub
LOS ANGELES — November 11, 2026.
A horrifying scene unfolded during the Tuesday evening rush hour in the San Fernando Valley when a white SUV careened off the roadway, hopped the curb, and smashed directly into a sidewalk food stand and a crowd of transit commuters outside the North Hollywood Metro station. The crash left three people dead at the scene and three others critically injured in hospital intensive care units.
The collision occurred at approximately 5:55 p.m. local time near the bustling intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler Boulevard. Witnesses reported that the vehicle, traveling southbound at a high rate of speed, showed no signs of braking before violently mounting the eastern sidewalk where local street food vendors had erected canopies to feed hundreds of commuters transferring between the Metro B Line (Red Line) subway and nearby bus plazas.
Dozens of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) paramedics and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers converged on the scene within minutes, establishing a triage zone across the debris-strewn sidewalk. Fire officials pronounced three adult victims deceased on impact, while emergency medical personnel stabilized and transported three survivors with severe, life-threatening trauma to regional level-one trauma centers.
Pedestrians and street vendors struck beneath sidewalk canopy
Eyewitnesses described a sudden, thunderous impact followed by screams of panic as the SUV demolished the food stall, sending cooking equipment, folding tables, and metal canopy framing flying across the pavement. Several bystanders narrowly avoided the vehicle by diving into subway station entrances or behind concrete pillar barriers.
“It sounded like an explosion,” said Marco Hernandez, a commuter who had just exited the subway turnstiles. “People were standing in line waiting for tacos and fruit cups after work. In a split second, the car jumped the curb and went straight through the tent without slowing down. There was no time for anyone under the tent to react.”
Community organizers and witnesses indicated that the three deceased victims included local street vendors who had operated at the intersection for years, serving the transit community. The identities of the deceased were withheld pending formal notification of next of kin by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
LAPD toxicology checks and crash reconstruction underway
The driver of the SUV, identified by authorities as a male in his 60s, survived the collision and was extricated from the wreckage. He was transported to a local hospital under police guard with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators from the LAPD Valley Traffic Division’s Multi-Disciplinary Collision Investigation Team (MCIT) took command of the scene. Detectives assigned drug recognition experts (DRE) to evaluate the driver for alcohol, prescription medication, or illicit narcotic impairment, while investigators obtained a judicial warrant for blood toxicology samples.
LAPD officials emphasized that detectives are investigating whether the crash resulted from severe driving impairment, a catastrophic medical emergency behind the wheel, or distracted driving. Technicians seized digital security video from Metro surveillance cameras, MTA bus dashcams, and surrounding commercial storefronts to reconstruct the vehicle’s exact trajectory and speed.
