A frightening morning crash sent a car through the entrance of a Southern California grocery store Tuesday, striking three people and leaving one seriously injured.
The crash happened around 7:30 a.m. at a Food 4 Less on Garvey Avenue in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, according to authorities.
The vehicle smashed through the front entrance of the supermarket, leaving shattered glass and damage around the doorway as police and firefighters rushed to the scene.
Three people were reportedly caught in the vehicle’s path.
One victim was taken to a trauma center in serious condition, El Monte Police Lt. Aram Choe said. The other two suffered injuries described as minor to moderate.
Authorities had not immediately clarified whether all three victims were inside the supermarket, outside the entrance or moving between the two areas when the crash occurred.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene inside the store.
Employee Kirk Kvidhl told local television station KABC that he was stocking shelves when he suddenly heard a loud crash and saw part of the ceiling come down.
“There was glass everywhere,” he recalled.
Another shopper said she saw injured people on the floor after the impact, including a security guard who appeared to be in pain.
Aerial footage from the scene showed the car lodged inside the front portion of the supermarket while several El Monte police vehicles surrounded the damaged entrance.
Despite the violent impact, police said the driver did not flee.
The motorist remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators as officers worked to determine exactly what caused the vehicle to crash through the storefront.
Choe said investigators did not yet have information suggesting impairment or that the crash was intentional.
That leaves several important questions unanswered, including whether the driver suffered a medical emergency, accidentally accelerated, lost control of the vehicle or experienced some type of mechanical problem.
Police had not announced any arrest or criminal charges as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Food 4 Less involved in the crash is located on Garvey Avenue in El Monte and normally opens early in the morning, meaning employees and customers were already inside when the vehicle came crashing through the entrance.
The investigation remains underway, and authorities are expected to review witness statements and any available surveillance footage as they try to reconstruct what happened in the moments before the impact.
The identities of the injured people and the driver had not been publicly released.
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