A tow truck driver smashed into more than ten vehicles early in the early morning hours of Friday. The crash ignited a fire and saw the driver of the wrecker end up in the hospital. Surveillance footage from a nearby security camera captured the heavy-duty truck flipping, sliding on its roof, and finally coming to a rest.
The truck driver was traveling northbound on Griffith Avenue in Los Angeles, California, at approximately 3 a.m. when he crossed through the intersection of Washington Boulevard. In the process, the truck struck at least one car, leading to a chain reaction. The truck flipped over and slid down the road, colliding with more cars along the way. In total, authorities have reported damage to at least 13 cars as a result of this incident.
The video shows the moments that followed the initial impact. The tow truck flips over, slides on its roof for quite a while, and finally comes to a rest with sparks of flame nearby. “We heard the explosion. We thought it was an earthquake,” said resident Aris Rodriguez to NBCLA.
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The collision was so violent that one of the cars struck by the truck ended up crashing into a nearby house, trapping some residents inside.
“My son and I were unable to exit our apartment. We had to go out of our apartment through the window.” Nelly Sorio told CBS.
To make matters worse, Sorio alleges that when she reached out to the tow truck company, she was informed that the driver, who had been with the company for about a month, did not have insurance coverage.
“Now that we’ve learned that the insurance coverage on that tow truck is practically non-existent, we are left uncertain. That’s my foremost concern at the moment.”
According to CBS, the police arrested the driver on charges of driving under the influence. Authorities have confirmed that both the driver and another individual involved in the accident were taken to the hospital. The carnage looked more like a demolition derby than a wreck involving so few people.
We’re just glad that everyone involved was able to get out of the situation with their lives. Many estimates indicate that the average tow truck weighs over four tons. That’s quite a lot of mass moving at speed and it’s fairly miraculous that nobody died here.