Chaos erupted in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon after an elderly woman behind the wheel plowed through a busy Westwood grocery store, leaving devastation in her wake. Authorities say three lives were lost and six more people were injured in the shocking incident that unfolded just after noon outside the 99 Ranch Market, a popular destination on Westwood Boulevard.
According to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz, the chain of horror began when a 92-year-old female driver struck a cyclist before careening her silver Toyota Prius straight into the store’s glass front—and directly into the bakery section. Inside the store, customers were enjoying their day until catastrophe struck; two men, 55 and 30, and a woman, 42, were among those killed, with some victims tragically pinned beneath the car. “Three victims, some of whom were trapped beneath the vehicle, died at the scene,” Lantz shared.
First responders arrived to a chaotic scene—emergency crews marked out a triage zone right outside the shattered storefront, while TV news helicopters captured the harrowing sight of the car embedded deep inside the establishment. Four individuals were rushed to area hospitals, including two 35-year-old men suffering serious injuries, and two others, men aged 37 and 38, treated for minor wounds. An additional two people refused hospitalization, despite being urged to by medics on the scene.
Los Angeles Police Department Captain Anthony Espinoza revealed to reporters, “The driver of a Toyota Prius lost control after hitting the bicyclist and then swerved into the bakery section of the market.” The condition of the cyclist remains unclear, as officials declined to provide further details.
Lyndsey Lantz confirmed to the Associated Press that the driver is a 92 year old woman and is cooperating with investigators while also undergoing a medical assessment following the traumatic event.
Police and fire personnel swarmed the location, which sits dangerously close to the University of California, Los Angeles campus. But according to Espinoza, “None of those killed or injured were university students.”
In the aftermath, city inspectors scoured the damaged market and, much to local relief, declared the building has no lingering structural dangers resulting from the smash.
A quiet afternoon of grocery shopping transformed into tragedy as one moment of lost control left a community in mourning—and experts now left to piece together how such calamity could have happened.
