Officials said the 2006 dark-colored Chevrolet Avalanche was traveling southbound on Broadway between 3rd and 4th streets just before 2 p.m. when the driver lost control and jumped onto the sidewalk. The truck hit five pedestrians and continued forward into a building.
"It was a very horrible scene, everyone was crying, everyone was screaming," said Pearl Lira, a witness.
The five pedestrians were all adults ranging in age from 41 to 72. One of them, a 52-year-old Hispanic woman from Los Angeles whose name was withheld, was trapped under the wreckage and died at the scene. The other four were transported to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
According to a witness, the woman who died was at a bus stop with her husband and another victim was in a wheelchair.
The driver, identified as Juan Moreno, and his passenger were also injured and taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that Moreno had a medical emergency from a pre-existing condition that caused him to lose control of the truck.
"It appears the vehicle was traveling at a lower rate of speed because there's not a lot of substantial amount of damage to the building," said Robert Franco, an assistant chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Franco said the building, which houses a restaurant, was deemed safe.
George Rangel said he was selling hot dogs in front of the building and narrowly missed being struck.
"I was sitting down and I just saw the truck right in front of me," Rangel said. "I just saw that it hit like a man and there was a guy with a wheelchair."
Broadway was closed from 3rd to 4th streets for hours as investigators worked at the scene. The truck was removed later at night.
It was previous reported that four pedestrians were struck. It was also previously reported that the truck had two passengers.
