Customer crashes vehicle at Mission Hills car dealership, killing 1 and injuring 2

One person was killed and two others injured when a customer driving an SUV inside a Mission Hills car dealership Wednesday morning crashed into the reception area, authorities said.

Shortly after 9 a.m., the driver, described as an elderly woman by authorities, pulled into the Hamer Toyota dealership to have her white Toyota serviced, when she lost control of the car, swerving to the left. She seemed to have accidentally accelerated instead of braking, said Capt. Erik Scott, a public information officer for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The vehicle careened into the customer reception area, shattering glass and coming to a stop against a cinder block wall after striking two employees and running over a customer, Scott said.

Witnesses described bystanders helping to free the female customer who was trapped beneath the vehicle, according to the Fire Department.

An off-duty nurse performed CPR on the woman, who was not breathing and had no pulse. The 56-year-old woman died after being taken to a regional trauma center, police confirmed.

The car also struck two employees. One of them, a 35-year-old man, suffered a head and foot injury and crawled to safety. He was taken to a hospital, along with a 23-year old male co-worker who had an arm laceration, Scott said. The employees’ injuries were not life-threatening and the patients are in fair condition, he added.

The driver appeared not to be injured and remained at the dealership in the 11000 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard, cooperating with officers, the department said.