Tuesday, 28 July 2026, 12:06
A routine lunch at a beloved Boyle Heights deli turned into a scene of catastrophic injury Tuesday afternoon when a suspected impaired driver drove onto the sidewalk. The crash, captured on surveillance video, left five people injured, one with life-altering wounds.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the collision occurred around 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and North Lorena Street, near Evergreen Cemetery. A woman driving a white SUV westbound on Cesar Chavez Avenue made a U-turn, jumped the curb on the southeast corner, struck a power box, and slammed into the front entrance of Los Cinco Puntos Mexican deli, a popular local establishment. Surveillance footage shows the vehicle plowing directly into a group of people eating at an outdoor sidewalk table. While police confirmed the U-turn preceded the crash, it's unclear what specific factor triggered the driver to lose complete control of the vehicle. The LAPD described the incident as a multi-vehicle crash involving three vehicles.
The impact caused devastating injuries. One victim suffered a double leg amputation. A 50-year-old woman sustained major leg injuries, including a broken leg, and is in stable condition. A 50-year-old man was hospitalized with a head injury, complaining of severe head pain. Two additional victims were hospitalized, one with varying injuries and another treated for minor injuries. All five were transported to local hospitals. The LAPD confirmed that a woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DUI. Officials have not yet released the identity or age of the driver, nor the identities of the five victims.
Witness Joe Diaz said a woman suffered severe leg injuries after being struck, while her daughter was shaken but not seriously hurt. Diaz also said a passerby was injured when a trash can was pushed into him during the crash. Diaz described applying tourniquets to a woman’s legs while others tried to keep her calm. He identified the injured as a mother and daughter who had been eating outside, an account that differs from the ages and genders LAPD later confirmed for the two people taken to the hospital.
The LAPD's Central Traffic Division is investigating the crash. Prosecutors are reviewing serious felony DUI charges against the arrested driver. Witnesses described a chaotic scene. One witness recounted the moment of impact in Spanish, stating through a translator that he heard braking followed by a sound like 'thunder.' Another said, 'I heard the impact and I thought maybe someone had died, then all these people were running over to see.'
Business owners and residents noted that protective bollards had been installed near the building but failed to stop the vehicle. The safety failure is expected to spark further community discussion regarding long-standing neighborhood concerns about traffic safety at this specific intersection. Neighbors said the intersection is prone to accidents. The restaurant’s owner said about five people were dining outside at the time and that a family of three was able to move out of the vehicle’s path. The restaurant’s front door was damaged, and an electrical box dislodged in the crash was later coned off.
Boyle Heights is a historic neighborhood in Los Angeles County, known for its vibrant Latino culture and family-owned businesses like Los Cinco Puntos. The area has seen ongoing discussions about pedestrian safety, particularly along busy corridors like Cesar Chavez Avenue. This crash underscores the vulnerability of outdoor dining areas and the need for stronger protective measures. The Storefront Safety Council estimates that such crashes occur more than 100 times daily across the United States, injuring as many as 16,000 people and killing as many as 2,600 annually. Restaurants with outdoor seating near roadways are among the site types the group’s research identifies as higher-risk.
Los Angeles has struggled with DUI-related crashes for years. In 2023, the LAPD reported over 1,000 DUI arrests in the Central Division alone. This incident is part of a broader pattern of impaired driving leading to severe injuries and deaths, prompting citywide calls for stricter enforcement and infrastructure improvements.
California drivers owe a duty of reasonable care to other roadway users and pedestrians under Civil Code Section 1714. A driver who leaves the roadway and strikes people on a sidewalk may be found negligent under the state’s basic speed law, Vehicle Code Section 22350, or under the reckless driving statute, Vehicle Code Section 23103, depending on what investigators determine caused the crash. A traffic citation tied to the collision could also support a negligence per se claim under Evidence Code Section 669.
In Bigbee v. Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. (1983) 34 Cal.3d 49, the California Supreme Court held that a foreseeable risk of a vehicle crashing into a roadside structure could support liability against the party that positioned it, extending potential responsibility beyond the driver even where a third-party driver’s negligence was the immediate cause. A similar theory could extend to outdoor dining areas sited close to intersections with a documented crash history, particularly where no bollards or barriers separated diners from traffic.
If a defect in the roadway or intersection design contributed to the crash, injured parties may also have a claim against the public entity responsible for its maintenance under Government Code Section 835, which governs liability for a dangerous condition of public property. Claims against a government entity carry a far shorter deadline than claims against private defendants: injured parties generally have six months from the date of an incident to file a claim under Government Code Section 911.2, compared with the two-year statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 that applies to standard personal injury claims.
This tragic event highlights the urgent need for enhanced traffic safety measures in Boyle Heights and across Los Angeles. As the investigation continues and charges are filed, the community mourns the victims and demands accountability. Residents are urged to stay informed and report any suspicious driving to local authorities.
