Crime & Safety

Woodland Hills Woman Dead After Car Crashes Through Store

A man is in custody this week on suspicion of crashing through a Halloween store in a vehicle, killing a woman and fleeing from police.

A man was in custody this week after he reportedly plowed through a Halloween popup store in Van Nuys, killing a woman and injuring at least seven other people before fleeing from authorities, fire officials said.
A man was in custody this week after he reportedly plowed through a Halloween popup store in Van Nuys, killing a woman and injuring at least seven other people before fleeing from authorities, fire officials said. (Renee Schiavone/Patch)

VAN NUYS, CA — A man was in custody this week after he reportedly plowed through a Halloween popup store in Van Nuys, killing a woman and injuring at least seven other people before fleeing from authorities, fire officials said.

The deadly collision unfolded on Sunday night at 8:07 p.m. at 7600 Woodley Ave., when a man driving a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe west on Saticoy Street crashed through a building on the corner of Woodley Avenue., according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A man was driving at a "high rate of speed" and fleeing from the scene of a street takeover event when his vehicle crashed through the storefront and struck several people, officials said.

Find out what's happening in Woodland Hillsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

LAPD officers were following the man in a helicopter above just before the collision, but officials did not say it was an official pursuit, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles resident Luis Carrillo-Castaneda, 18, was booked on suspicion of murder, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Find out what's happening in Woodland Hillsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"He was a young person driving insanely fast on residential streets and he could've killed many more people," an LAPD officer told ABC7.

A Woodland Hills woman in her 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Her identity was not released.

Seven others were injured in the crash, but paramedics said none had life-threatening injuries, ABC7 reported.

The Los Angeles Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue team was evaluating the stability of the building, Stewart said in a release.

The SUV driver was taking part in a nearby street takeover, doing donuts in the middle of an intersection, and crashed into the building at a high speed, while being followed by the LAPD helicopter overhead, NBC4 reported.

No other details were immediately available.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.