Suspected DUI driver in Winnetka leaves 5 injured at 2 scenes

Five people were hospitalized late Sunday, March 20, 2017, at two separate crash scenes in Winnetka. The crashes were caused by a suspected DUI driver, police said. (Photo by Rick McClure/Special to the Los Angeles Daily News)

WINNETKA >> Five people were hospitalized after a suspected DUI driver crashed into multiple vehicles at two locations in Winnetka, authorities said Monday.

The crashes were reported at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday at Hart Street and Oso Avenue and Oso Avenue and Sherman Way, according to Officer R. Carter of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

The suspected DUI driver first collided with “several vehicles” at Hart Street and Oso Avenue, Carter said. The man then fled the scene and got into a second collision at Oso Avenue and Sherman Way.

Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut two people from a vehicle at the second crash, he added.

Three patients were transported by advanced life-support ambulances due to the violence of the crashes, Carter explained. Another patient suffered serious injuries and one had minor injuries, according to firefighters.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said he had no information on the ages or gender of the people who were injured. The spokesman added that one of the vehicles involved was a mini passenger van.

Wes Woods II contributed to this report