Cops think nitrous oxide, a.k.a. NOS or laughing gas, might have played a role in a DUI crash that injured five people in Lynwood this week.

Investigators say they found a nitrous oxide tank following the Monday collision at Atlantic Avenue and Imperial Highway, according to an L.A. County Sheriff's Department statement.

The suspected DUI driver …

… allegedly tried to get away after the vehicle he was in ended up on its roof; he “was apprehended by sheriff's deputies a short time later on a nearby residential street,” the department stated.


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The suspect was driving west on Imperial Highway “at a high rate of speed” when the vehicle he was in rear-ended a car stopped at a stoplight at Atlantic, sheriff's officials said.

Both of those vehicles ended up smashing into a car headed for a left turn in the intersection, according to the statement.

Five people, including the suspect, sustained moderate to serious injuries, deputies said.

And then there was this alleged evidence, according to the sheriff's department:

A cylinder possibly containing Nitrous Oxide (“Nos”) was located in the suspect's vehicle. It is alleged the suspect was under the influence of Nitrous Oxide at the time of the collision.

Nitrous is popular at raves and clubs and provides a dizzy high that can sometimes lead to blackouts.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of DUI, hit-and-run and possession of a controlled substance.

We reached out to both the sheriff's Century Station and Headquarters Bureau but were unable to come up with either a name for the suspect or a time for the crash.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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