A 59-year-old man died from his injuries overnight at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. The man had been transported to the hospital along with a female, who remained in critical condition Monday.
A 6-year-old girl was also in critical condition at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The California Highway Patrol said she was ejected from the vehicle during the accident and it appeared she was not wearing a seatbelt.
Authorities say the crash happened Sunday at about 6:30 p.m. It appears the 40-year-old driver of the SUV lost control after he blew a front tire. The SUV rolled over at least once, and the 6-year-old girl was ejected onto the carpool lane. The SUV then plunged more than 30 feet off the freeway onto the road below, narrowly missing a passing car.
A man in his 40s, a woman in her 30s and an 11-year-old girl were pronounced dead at the scene.
Stunned witnesses ran to the vehicle to help those inside.
"We heard a tremendous explosion and we ran out to come and see," said Hugo Gambetta, who was attending a meeting a few hundred yards away from the crash site. "Just to see and hear the people scream and then they stop screaming. You know, they're dying right in front of you and you feel worthless, useless, because you can't do anything."
"It's like a movie, it's like a dream. It doesn't seem real," said witness Andrew Gutierrez. "You just turn around and there's dead people. You feel for them because you don't even know them, just know that they're dead. You just try to help somebody out."
Authorities are still investigating the crash. Alcohol was found at the scene and may have been a factor.
