Driver fleeing ‘street takeover’ kills 1, hurts 5 when SUV hits building, CA cops say

An 18-year-old was arrested after his SUV crashed into a pop-up restaurant in California, killing one person and injuring at least five others, authorities said.

Luis Carrillo-Castaneda was speeding in a 2007 Black Chevy Tahoe when he lost control and crashed into a building full of patrons, a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The crash happened at 8:07 p.m. Sunday in Van Nuys, about 17 miles north of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The building was hosting a pop-up event with different vendors, KTLA reported.

Police told KTLA that Carrillo-Castaneda was fleeing from a “street takeover” that the police had just dispersed. A police helicopter saw Carrillo-Castaneda’s vehicle doing donuts in an intersection before taking off “at an extremely high rate of speed” and with no lights on, KTLA reported.

Carrillo-Castaneda, swerved to avoid hitting a bus before losing control of the SUV, authorities said. The crash killed one woman, and at least five other people were treated for injuries afterward, ABC 7 reported.

Carrillo-Castaneda, who sustained minor injuries, now faces one charge for murder, according to ABC 7.

Police said Carrillo-Castaneda’s attempts to regain control of the car left about 200 feet of skid marks on the ground. The car then careened into the building and traveled for about 75 more feet before coming to a stop at the back of the building, ABC 7 reported.

Carrillo-Castaneda has a prior arrest and had been involved in crashes before, Officer Jeff Smith told KTLA.

This story was originally published October 25, 2021 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Driver fleeing ‘street takeover’ kills 1, hurts 5 when SUV hits building, CA cops say."