30 injured as vehicle drives into crowd outside Los Angeles club

A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, injuring 30 people.

The driver was later found to have been shot, according to Los Angeles police, who were searching for a suspected gunman who fled the scene.

It was not immediately clear if the driver had been shot before or after the crash or why he drove into the crowd, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.

Victims were transported to local hospitals and trauma centres, according to Capt Adam Van Gerpen, public information officer for the Los Angeles City Fire Department. At least three were in critical condition after being injured along Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood, the Fire Department said in a statement.

Van Gerpen said that a line of people — the majority female — were waiting to enter a nightclub when they were struck by a Nissan Versa that also hit a taco truck and valet stand.

Paramedics discovered that one of the patients had a gunshot wound, Van Gerpen said. He told The Associated Press that the identity of that person was not yet known.

“This is under police investigation,” he said. “This will be a large investigation with the LAPD.”

People inside the club came out to help in the minutes before emergency crews arrived, he said, to help the victims.

“They were all standing in line going into a nightclub. There was a taco cart out there, so they were ... getting some food, waiting to go in. And there’s also a valet line there,” he said. “The valet podium was taken out, the taco truck was taken out, and then a large number of people were impacted by the vehicle.”