A 33-year-old woman is dead after the driver of an SUV jumped the curb during an unsafe turn and crashed into a building, pinning the victim against the structure in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Vermont Square on Tuesday.
Calls about the fatal collision at 1354 W. 46th St. came in just after 4:30 p.m., according to officials with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“I’ve seen many of these,” Los Angeles Police Detective Gerald Chavarria said. “I believe she was instantly killed.
Police say the victim, Lisbeth Estrada Rodriguez, a young mother and business owner from the neighborhood was walking home when she was struck by 31-year-old Dwight Williams who made an unsafe turn at a high rate of speed before slamming into the innocent woman.
“Collided into her, projecting her directly into the building, causing a cavernous crater in the building, suggesting a high rate of speed,” Det. Chavarria said.
Williams was arrested for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and booked at LAPD’s 77th Street Station.
Aerial footage captured by Sky5 showed police at the scene as they raised a canopy over the young mother and cordoned the area off so detectives could begin investigating the cause of the deadly crash.
Neighbors told KTLA’s John Fenoglio that Rodriguez and her husband ran a small market down the street and that the mother of two young children was beloved in the community.
“She was a great person, a hard-working mom, always walked her kids to school,” neighbor Jeremy Gonzalez said. “Hopefully, someone will hear this and make a GoFundMe for her husband because I don’t know how he’s going to survive taking care of two kids, trying to work and run a business.”
The neighbor added that Rodriguez was an essential part of the neighborhood.
“It’s a tragic loss for us here in South Central,” he said.
LAPD said the intersection of Normandie Avenue and 46th Street was shut down for an extended period while investigators determined the cause of the accident.