MTA Bus Hits 3 in Crosswalk; 1 Dies, 2 Hurt

An MTA bus Thursday struck three people who were caught in a crosswalk as the light changed from yellow to red, killing one and critically injuring the others.

The bus was southbound on Vermont Avenue in Koreatown, crossing Olympic Boulevard, when it struck the three pedestrians, said Gary Wosk, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman. One woman was declared dead at the scene, another victim was transported to County-USC Medical Center, and a third was taken to California Hospital Medical Center. Both hospitalized people were in critical condition. The victims’ names were not released.

After the crash, a crowd of about 200 people gathered at the scene, where green onions and a pair of beige shoes were strewn on a gutter grate near the woman’s body.

One witness, Giovanni Figueroa, said he saw the three victims begin to cross Olympic about 3:15 p.m.

“They were walking toward me,” Figueroa said, “and then the light turned red and they turned around and the bus hit them.”

The unidentified driver, who was uninjured, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital because “she was shaken up,” said city Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis.