A woman in her 30s was killed and three other pedestrians were injured after a 91-year-old woman drove through a Los Angeles shopping-center parking lot and struck several people Thursday afternoon.
The crash happened at about 1:21 p.m. outside a Trader Joe’s on West Third Street near Fairfax Avenue. The Los Angeles Fire Department initially responded to a report of a vehicle hitting a security stand and later confirmed five patients, including one person who died at the scene.
The injured pedestrians included a 19-year-old man who was taken to a hospital in serious condition and women ages 30 and 57 who suffered minor injuries. The 91-year-old driver was also hospitalized with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
The driver remained at the scene. ABC7 reported that no arrest had been announced as police investigated what caused the crash.
Across The Lot
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The car was a Tesla. NBC Los Angeles reported that the driver first hit a parked SUV, then struck people who were walking toward a parked van before the car hit the parking booth.
One witness, Drake Piscione, told ABC7 that he spoke with the driver afterward. He said she told him she had tried to stop the Tesla but believed it continued accelerating even though she thought her foot was on the brake.
That account came through a witness, not a finding from the crash investigation. Police had not announced what caused the Tesla to accelerate or whether driver error, a vehicle problem, or something else was responsible.
The Gilmore Station lot serves Trader Joe’s, Mendocino Farms and Sidecar Doughnuts across Third Street from The Original Farmers Market and The Grove.
Five-Year Check
The driver’s age quickly became part of the reaction to the crash, including calls for elderly motorists to face tighter restrictions or to stop driving altogether.
California already subjects older drivers to a different renewal process, though reaching 80 or 90 does not by itself end someone’s driving privileges.
Under current California DMV rules, drivers 70 and older must renew their licenses in person every five years and complete a vision screening. A behind-the-wheel test can also be required when the DMV identifies concerns about a driver’s medical condition, vision, or ability to drive safely.
The state changed another piece of that process in 2024. Drivers 70 and older with qualifying records are no longer automatically required to take a written knowledge test simply because of their age, although the DMV can still require additional testing depending on the driver’s record or circumstances.
Those rules do not establish anything about the 91-year-old woman’s driving history or licensing status before Thursday’s crash.
The Los Angeles Police Department is handling the collision investigation. Police had not announced an arrest or a final determination of the cause in the latest reporting.