Three of the five pedestrians who were struck in a Boyle Heights crash involving a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicle were two young boys who were killed and their critically injured mother, authorities said Friday.
The incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Whittier Boulevard and Indiana Street.
“The force of the collision caused the deputy’s patrol vehicle to run off the roadway and hit three pedestrians, a mother and her two children,” the Los Angeles Police Department, which is conducting an investigation, said in a statement.
According to the sheriff’s department, deputies were responding to a gunshot call at the time of the crash.
The LAPD said the fatally struck boys were 7 and 9. One died at the scene; the other was pronounced dead at a hospital, where their mother was listed in critical condition. Family members identified the boys as Marcos and Jose Luis Hernandez.