A pregnant woman who died in a violent high-speed crash that killed five people in the Windsor Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles County was identified on Friday, authorities said.
Asherey Ryan, 23, is the woman killed in Thursday’s crash, according to the Los Angeles County coroner and law enforcement sources. It was not immediately clear which car she was in or how she had been involved in the accident.
The release of the name comes as the California Highway Patrol continues to investigate the cause of the accident. The names of the other four people who died have not been released.
Eight people were also injured in the accident. The LA County Fire Department responded to the crash just after 1:40 p.m.
After the accident, a trail of fire burns on the ground.
Smoke could be seen billowing for miles around.
Officer Franco Pepi, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said Thursday afternoon that three adults, including a pregnant woman, and a baby were killed in the accident.
Authorities later found the remains of another person inside one of the burned vehicles, he said. This person’s gender or age were not known as of Thursday evening.
The pregnant woman also lost her unborn child, which the CHP counted as an additional death “due to rare circumstances”, Pepi said.
A Windsor Hills intersection became incendiary in a collision involving multiple vehicles on Thursday.
Authorities took eight people to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for treatment, he said. Among the injured, six were teenagers and one suffered serious injuries.
An investigation is underway after a violent accident involving several cars killed five people, including a pregnant woman and a baby.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
A woman who did not want to be named told The Times that a Mercedes-Benz hit her car as she was leaving a United Oil gas station.
“I was going out, I had gas,” she said. “Suddenly Mercedes comes towards me on… fire. I didn’t have time to think about it. He hit my car. I turned, I hit the bench on the side.
The crash made her fear a gasoline explosion, she told The Times.
Nearby, the wrecked Mercedes-Benz with a broken hood had crashed into a curb.
Investigators believe the driver of the Mercedes-Benz was responsible for the crash, Pepi said.
Local residents verify the scene of the fatal accident.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but the CHP spokesperson said investigators determined the Mercedes was traveling “at high speed” and ran a red light as it headed south on La Brea.
The driver was identified only as an adult female, Pepi said.
The woman was hospitalized but was conscious and spoke to CHP investigators on Thursday evening, he said, adding he did not know the extent of her injuries.
At least six vehicles were involved in the crash, three of which were engulfed in flames, Pepi said. The others suffered moderate damage.
Members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department embrace at the scene of the crash that left several dead.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Witnesses described a horrific scene.
“It looked like the whole intersection from corner to corner was on fire,” Harper Washington told KABC-TV Channel 7. “Lots of sparks and electricity. I felt like, really at first, I thought they had dropped a bomb on us. … Once the fire went out and the rumbling went away, I realized there were two cars there. You could see people on fire and it’s just sad. I really pray for the people and the community.
Veronique Esquival said KTLA that a baby has come to rest in the intersection. “One of the workers came and saw me with the baby and snatched the baby from my hands. Someone tried to resuscitate the baby, but the baby was gone,” she said.