At least six hospitalized after Porsche SUV plows into Los Angeles street carnival

At least six people were injured when an SUV plowed through a street carnival in Los Angeles while trying to evade police. 

Police said they were attempting to pull over the white Porsche Cayenne SUV during a traffic stop on Saturday night, but the vehicle sped off down the street, and crashed through a barricade and into a crowd of people. 

Video from the scene showed the moment terrified carnival-goers are seen rushing to safety. The victims hurt in the incident, all between the ages of 15-40, were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

It happened around 8:20 p.m. near Trinity Street and Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in the city’s historic South Central area.

The SUV was located a few blocks away and the driver, who has not yet been named, was taken into custody, police said. It’s not clear if the driver was under the influence, and an investigation is underway. 

Video shows the terrifying moment people rushed for safety after a Porsche SUV plowed through a crowd at a street carnival in Los Angeles Saturday, sending six people to the hospital

Witnesses at the carnival told KTLA that they were waiting in line for rides and food when some say they heard what sounded like gunshots, while others heard a loud boom

Witnesses at the carnival told KTLA that they were waiting in line for rides and food when some say they heard what sounded like gunshots, while others heard a loud boom.

Then video from the scene showed how a night out at the fair quickly turned into a nightmare as people fled for their lives.  

‘It was kind of upsetting because he hit a couple of my guards,’ one witness told KABC. 

‘He actually gave one of the guards a concussion and broke his leg. It shouldn’t have happened, man.’

Police said the incident began when officers attempted a traffic stop. The driver refused to stop and sped off, plowing through a cement rail and into the carnival on the street.

‘It looks like he tried to get out of the fair, but because of the barricades, he was unable to get out of the fair so he continued westbound MLK, continuing through the crowd of people, which we estimate was between a thousand to 2,000 people,’ said Sgt. Robert Leary with LAPD. 

Video shot at the scene shows people fleeing in fear after the car plowed into the crowd

An aerial view shows the carnival in Los Angeles after an SUV plowed through a crowd 

The victims hurt in the incident, all between the ages of 15-40, were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries

The street carnival is covered in police tape following the frightening incident

Leary told KABC that the outcome could have been much worse.  

‘It is a blessing that no one actually got severely injured,’ he added. 

‘I think that they heard the car, I’m not sure if he was honking, obviously people were screaming. It was quite hectic, so I think people saw this car coming in and thankfully they got out of the way in time.’

Police located the Porsche  SUV about three blocks from the carnival and took the driver into custody.