A Mercedes-Maybach SUV ended up mangled on a Koreatown sidewalk early Friday after a two-car collision killed another driver and left parked vehicles, a streetlight, and a fire hydrant damaged.
The crash happened around 12:30 a.m. on August 28 near West 8th Street and South Ardmore Avenue in Los Angeles. A woman in her 30s died at the scene, while the woman driving the Maybach survived and was later arrested on suspicion of DUI.
CBS Los Angeles reported that police booked the Maybach driver after she was released from the hospital. Neither her name nor the name of the woman who died had been publicly released as of Friday night.
The exact model year of the wrecked Maybach has not been released, either. The current Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 starts at $180,000 and comes standard with an extensive collection of driver-assistance technology, including Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function. Police have not said whether any of those systems activated before the collision.
After Midnight
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According to LAPD information reported by ABC7, the Maybach was traveling south on Ardmore Avenue while a black Toyota was heading west on 8th Street.
The vehicles collided, sending the Toyota spinning into a pole. Its driver was pulled from the car, but she died at the scene.
The Maybach continued beyond the initial collision. ABC7 reports that it struck a streetlight and several parked vehicles before ending up on the sidewalk. A fire hydrant was also sheared off, sending water high above the street.
Video from the scene shows damage spread well beyond the two vehicles that initially collided. Debris covered the roadway, parked vehicles were damaged, and the front of the Maybach was heavily crushed.
How fast the vehicles were moving has not been established.
Witnesses told police that the suspected DUI driver had been seen speeding in the area before the crash, according to CBS Los Angeles. LAPD had not released an estimated speed for either vehicle.
The Maybach driver was taken to California Hospital Medical Center after the crash. NBC Los Angeles reported that LAPD arrested her on suspicion of DUI. CBS later reported that she was booked after leaving the hospital.
Police told CBS they were not investigating the collision as a hit-and-run.
What It Packs
A six-figure Maybach reduced to wreckage naturally puts some attention on what was inside it before the crash.
Mercedes-Benz lists the 2026 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 with a starting MSRP of $180,000. Its 4.0-liter biturbo V8 produces 550 horsepower, and Mercedes says the 6,327-pound SUV can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.
The safety list is nearly as substantial.
Active Brake Assist, Active Steering Assist, Evasive Steering Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Emergency Stop Assist, and Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function are all standard on the current GLS 600.
Cross-traffic braking is not exclusive to the newest version. Specifications for the 2021 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600, the model’s first year in the U.S., also list Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function along with collision mitigation, evasive steering assistance, and front cross-traffic mitigation.
Mercedes describes Active Brake Assist as a system that can detect a possible collision and warn the driver. In critical situations, the system can also initiate automatic braking.
That technology has limits built into its description. Mercedes describes Active Brake Assist as something that can warn and react to possible collisions, not a system that hands control of the vehicle over to the computer.
There is also no public evidence showing what happened inside this particular Maybach during the seconds before impact. Its model year has not been confirmed, and LAPD has not said whether the SUV issued a warning, applied automatic braking, or made any other driver-assistance intervention.
What Police Know
LAPD continues to investigate what led to the collision. Witnesses have supplied police with reports of speeding, and the Maybach driver has been arrested on suspicion of DUI, but police had not released a measured or estimated speed for the SUV.
ABC7 spoke with people in the neighborhood who said speeding is a familiar problem on the surrounding streets. One resident told the station he had seen dangerous driving there before, although he had never seen a crash of this magnitude.
The woman killed in the Toyota has been described publicly only as being in her 30s. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner had not publicly identified her in the reports available Friday.
Police also had not publicly identified the Maybach driver. CBS Los Angeles reported that she was booked on suspicion of DUI after being released from the hospital.