A driver was taken into custody on suspicion of DUI after authorities say her speeding SUV struck a tree and several cars in Monterey Park, killing three of her passengers and injuring her 7-year-old daughter and herself early Friday morning, June 28.
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One man was ejected and found fatally injured on the roof of a house, said David Goetz, spokesman for the Monterey Park Fire Department.
“It’s a tragedy,” Monterey Park police Chief Scott Wiese said. “They all know each other. You had a 7-year-old who had to go through this.”
He didn’t know yet how fast the Jeep Cherokee was traveling.
The solo crash was reported to police at 12:3
The Cherokee was heading west on Graves Avenue when it lost control in the 100 or 200 block, hit a curb, a tree, a wall and three cars in front of a home, Wiese said.
The three passengers died at the scene: Two men, including the one found on the roof, and a woman.
Officers found the driver outside of the SUV assisting her daughter out of the Cherokee, police said.4 a.m.
It wasn’t clear if the three people who were killed had been wearing seatbelts. The medical examiner’s office had not yet publicly identified them.
The driver and the 7-year-old girl did have on seatbelts, Goetz said. They were taken to Los Angeles General Medical Center with minor injuries, police said.
The SUV struck three other vehicles after hitting the tree. (Photo from Key News Network video by Randy Dominguez)
“It was just really tragic,” said Felix Lam, who lives in the house where the SUV ended up.
Lam was in his room getting ready for bed when he heard the crash.
“I saw the headlights coming at our house,” he said.
The SUV damaged a Prius, a Prius C and a Camry parked in their driveway, he said.
His windows were open, and Lam said smoke, dust and debris got inside. A tree was also knocked down in their yard.
Lam called police.
Security footage shows the SUV was already sideways and rolling when it approached their home, Lam said. The SUV landed on the retaining wall that acted as kind of a ramp, he said. It launched off of the wall, then hit their cars.
“It smashed my windshield, landed on my sister’s car and totaled my dad’s car,” Lam said.
Everyone was home.
“I’m just glad everyone in my family is OK,” he said.
Police asked anyone with information about the crash to call them at 626-307-1200.