An investigation continues into an accident near Hancock Park Elementary School that killed a woman and seriously injured her six-year-old daughter.
Authorities say the pickup driver involved has not yet been taken into custody and the incident “appears to be a tragic accident” resulting from a medical emergency.
The deadly clashes also sparked calls for increased road safety around schools, including the installation of speed humps near all schools in the city and more crossing guards.
Ghadah Abduljabbar, 33, died Tuesday at the crash site near Ogden Drive and Colgate Avenue in the Mid-Wilshire area, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office reported. The girl, her freshman at Hancock Park Elementary School, is still hospitalized in critical condition. Her name has not been released by authorities.
Abduljabbar and her daughter were walking at a crosswalk when they were hit by a southbound pickup truck heading south and crashed into an apartment building. The woman died on the spot.
A man in his 30s who was driving the pickup truck was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. LAPD Chief Michelle Moore told the police commission there were early signs that the driver may have been disabled.
But on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement saying the crash may not have been the result of criminal activity.
“At this time, based on the circumstances as a whole, this appears to be a tragic accident that could have been attributed to a medical emergency.
“The investigation into this cause is ongoing and will include examining additional evidence such as remaining video, canvases for additional witnesses, and forensic examination of the vehicle involved. The driver has been identified and He is not in custody at this time, but may be charged at a later date as the investigation progresses.”
Meanwhile, Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said another 14-year-old student at Berendo Middle School near downtown Los Angeles was hit by a car on Wednesday. The circumstances of the crash and the student’s condition were not immediately known, but the boy’s condition is stable and should be fine.
In a statement on Wednesday, Carvalho said: “The law calls for the immediate deployment of crossing guards, increased enforcement around schools dedicated to speed limits, additional safety measures and to ensure safe access to schools. should be enacted,” he said. “We wish the student a speedy recovery and additional support will be provided to the school community.”
Additionally, the Los Angeles City Council’s transportation committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a motion calling for the installation of speed humps outside every school in the city to slow down traffic.
The commission also approved another motion to seek to strengthen the city’s crossing guard programme. City Councilor Nithya Raman recommended that the city’s human resources department implement a cash referral program to bring in more crossing guards. Introduced a proposed amendment to direct
The city currently has about 200 vacancies in crossing guard positions and funding for 500 crossing guards. The second motion seeks to streamline the hiring process.
“There are no words to express how horrifying this act of traffic violence is,” Katie Yaroslavski, a city councilor who represents the area where Tuesday’s accident occurred, wrote on her Twitter page.
“Like tens of thousands of other parents in Los Angeles, I walked my kids to school today,” she said.
“Knowing that a distracted driver is traveling well over the speed limit just a few feet from where the children are walking can be a frightening experience. ” Yaroslavsky pledged to support the school’s Speed Hump program.
“We must treat street safety in Los Angeles as a crisis,” she wrote. “It starts with Hancock Park Elementary School securing a crossing guard at the intersection where the accident occurred.”