Eight people were injured Saturday when a man involved in a dispute with an Inglewood car dealership drove his vehicle into the showroom.
The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. Saturday at the CarMax dealership in the 8600 block of south La Cienega Boulevard, at Manchester Avenue, Inglewood police Lt. C. Islas told City News Service.
The customer was involved in a dispute at the dealership when he left the building, got into his SUV and drove through the doors, Islas said.
Video shown on television news showed the man driving the SUV through the showroom while people inside try to get away from it .
The Los Angeles Times reported that an employee shopping for a car at CarMax saw the customer yelling at staff while they tried to calm him down. The man reportedly waved a metal water bottle, then ran outside and jumped on the roof of a car. The Times employee left before the SUV was driven through the dealership.
Eight people were injured, including two who were taken to a trauma center for treatment, Islas said. All of the victims had stable vital signs four hours later.
The suspect fled the scene but stopped at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Ahmanson Recruit Training Center at 5651 W. Manchester Ave. and he was taken into custody, she said.
A CarMax statement noted: “This afternoon, a customer drove through our Inglewood, California store, hitting and injuring several associates and customers who are receiving care at the hospital at this time,” officials said.
“The safety of our associates, community and customers is our top priority,” officials continued. “We are deeply saddened by this event and our hearts go out to everyone impacted.”
The company said it is working with authorities on the investigation.