People of State Street React to Violent Traffic Collision

The that was being pursued provided the residents from State Street with a serious shock at the dawn of Tuesday.

“I was falling sleep until I heard a car press its brakes, followed by a loud noise,” said Omar Pelayo, 21, who lives on State Street and who exited his home to see the aftermath of the crash. “The car that was being chased was destroyed.”

At approximately 1 a.m. the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived to a crash scene at 8600 block on State Street between Ardmore Avenue and Firestone Boulevard.  The suspect of the crashed car collided with two parked cars after leading officers from the Huntington Park Police Department on a chase.

The suspect was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and is reported to be in critical condition, according to the municipal police department’s of Huntington Park and .

Pelayo, who caught a glimpse of the driver after the impact, said that the situation looked very serious.

“I saw his face and it was bleeding,” said Pelayo. “I could not believe it.”

The Fire Department told reporters on scene that it took approximately 20 minutes to retrieve the teen driver from the wrecked car. The latter came to a complete stop on the sidewalk in front of the residence of Daniel Kozasky, 24.

“[The crash] sounded so close that I thought [the car] was going to land on our front yard,” said Kozasky, who was awake watching a movie at the time of the accident. “It scared the hell out of me.”

The police was still investigating the crash on Tuesday morning and business owners on State Street were astounded over what happened. One business owner found himself waking up to a blocked entrance in the morning.

“I could not open my business because [the police] had placed the evidence right here,” said Luis Gutierrez, 40, owner of as he pointed to the entrance and exit of his business. 

The Huntington Park Police Department is handling the criminal investigation of the collision, and at this moment could not provide any information on why the driver chose to flee when an officer attempted to have him pull over, said Lt. Neal Mongan.

The reason for the chase continues to puzzle the people of State Street. With some, such as Pelayo, not understanding why a teenager would take such a high risk decision.

“This was not worth it, “ affirmed Pelayo. “It would have been better for him to stop.”

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