5 hospitalized, including 2-year-old child, after Lakewood crash; dashcam captures rescue of victims

LAKEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Five people were hospitalized, including a 2-year-old child, after a car slammed into a light pole in Lakewood on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Del Amo Boulevard, just east of Knoxville Avenue. A white Toyota sedan struck a pole on a sidewalk near Mae Boyar Park, mangling the front end of the car.

The vehicle's engine was still smoking when an independent news videographer arrived at the scene, their dashboard camera capturing the dramatic aftermath of the collision.

The video shows a visibly distraught person removing an apparently unconscious toddler from the car as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy arrives at the scene.

The deputy holds the toddler in her arms as other people work to rescue the other occupants of the car. At one point a man is seeing reaching into the sedan, pulling a female passenger out through a window and carrying her over to the sidewalk.

The five patients were taken to hospitals. The toddler was said to be in critical but stable condition.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.