HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - Five people, including a Fox11 reporter and photographer, were injured this afternoon when an SUV with an allegedly drunk driver behind the wheel crashed into a storefront on Hollywood Boulevard, authorities said.
The vehicle struck a group of pedestrians on the sidewalk as it crashed into the front of the Highland Market at 6818 Hollywood Blvd. near the El Capitan Theatre about 3:05 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said the motorist, who was not immediately identified, was driving the wrong way when he veered off the road in the Hollywood Walk of Fame tourist area. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The LAFD reported that four patients were transported to a trauma center in serious to critical condition, and a fifth person declined to be taken to a hospital.
According to Fox11, reporter Hal Eisner and photographer Joab Perez were among those injured. They were in the area to cover the reopening of the El Capitan at 6838 Hollywood Blvd., which had been closed for nearly a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ABC7 reported from the scene that all the hospitalized patients are expected to survive. Channel 7 also reported that the driver was apparently unhurt, and that he told authorities he fell asleep at the wheel but subsequently failed field sobriety tests. He was taken to a hospital to be checked out and undergo DUI testing.
Hollywood Boulevard was shut down at Highland Avenue for the crash investigation and cleanup.
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