A 55-year-old man was killed and five others were injured in a Glendale car accident after a car crashed into a bakery. According to a CBS Los Angeles news report, the fatal crash occurred the afternoon of March 28, 2013 at Oledina’s Cake Factory in the 1100 block of East Broadway. Police say a Lexus, driven by a 72-year-old woman, crossed four lanes of traffic and hit five cars in a strip mall parking lot before it barreled into the bakery. A 55-year-old man who was getting a cup of coffee was struck and pinned against a counter. He died at the scene.
Four others sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A woman who was hit in the bakery’s parking lot was taken to an area hospital. Police said the driver of the Lexus got her nails done across the street and lost control of the vehicle as she was leaving. She was able to walk out of the wreckage. No arrests or citations were reported pending an official investigation.
Crash Statistics
There were five fatalities and 723 injuries involving car crashes in Glendale, according to California Highway Patrol’s 2010 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). During the same year, 530 people died and 50,513 were injured due to traffic accidents in Los Angeles County.
What Caused This Crash?
Based on this news report, it is not clear what caused the elderly driver to lose control of her vehicle at the time. There are several questions here. Was she impaired at the time? Was she inattentive or disoriented? Was there some type of vehicle defect or mechanical malfunction that may have caused her to lose control? Was the driver distracted by anything either inside or outside the vehicle? Was she under the influence of any medications? I trust officials are looking into these and other issues in order to determine precisely what occurred here and why.
Compensation for Victims and Families
In cases where negligence or wrongdoing is involved, injured victims or families of deceased victims can seek compensation from at-fault parties for damages and losses. In addition to citations or criminal charges, at-fault drivers can be held financially liable for victims’ losses. Victims and their families would also be well advised to contact an experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer who will stay abreast of the official investigation and ensure that the negligent parties are held accountable.