As the investigation continued Wednesday into the death of a woman struck by a possibly impaired driver near Hancock Park Elementary School, the school district’s top official called for a number of actions, including “more enforcement around schools specific to speed limits.”
The crash in the mid-Wilshire area that occurred about 8 a.m. Tuesday near Fairfax and Colgate avenues also critically injured a 6-year-old girl believed to be the woman’s daughter, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Authorities have not released the name of the woman who died at the scene of the crash. Updated information was not released by police on the condition of the girl, who was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police said the woman and girl were walking in a crosswalk in the 6200 block of West Colgate Avenue when they were struck by a southbound pickup, which then continued south and crashed into an apartment building.
Police said the critically injured girl is a first-grader at Hancock Park Elementary.
The motorist, a man about 30, was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, the LAPD reported. He was detained at the hospital pending further investigation. His name was not released.
On Wednesday afternoon, an LAPD spokesperson told City News Service that the case remained under investigation and no other details were being released.
On Tuesday morning, LAPD Chief Michel Moore told the city Police Commission there were “early signs that the man was impaired.”
“That is a contributing factor to this horrific collision that resulted in the loss of this mother, and the critical injuries to this young child,” Moore said.
Police said speed was also believed to have contributed to the crash. Investigators have been interviewing witnesses and searching for any possible video that may have captured the crash.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho issued a statement on Wednesday in which he said another student was hit by a vehicle near downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.
“A day after the horrific accident near Hancock Park Elementary School, another student was hit by a car near downtown Los Angeles,” Carvalho said.
“We need immediate staffing of crossing guards, more enforcement around schools specific to speed limits and legislation to provide additional safety precautions and measures to ensure safe passages to schools,” Carvalho said.
“We wish our student a speedy recovery, and extra support will be provided to the school community,” Carvalho said.
Los Angeles police had no immediate details of the crash reported by Carvalho.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents the area where the crash occurred, wrote on her Twitter page Tuesday that there are “no words to convey how horrifying this act of traffic violence is.”
“Like tens of thousands of other parents in Los Angeles, I also walked my child to school today,” she said. “It can be a terrifying experience, knowing that distracted drivers are traveling far above speed limits just feet from where our children walk.”
Yaroslavsky said she will be supporting a motion before the council’s Transportation Committee on Wednesday calling for the installation of speed humps around every elementary school in the city.
“We need to address street safety in Los Angeles as the crisis that it is,” she wrote. “That starts with ensuring that Hancock Park Elementary has a crossing guard at the intersection where the accident occurred.”
Police reminded motorists “that if they become involved in a collision, they should pull over and stop as soon as it is safe to do so, notify emergency services, and remain at the scene to identify themselves.”