Dennis RomeroAt least two people were injured tonight when a pickup truck being chased by the LAPD crashed into the popular Wurstkuche restaurant in Venice.
The crash after a short chase was reported shortly before 9 p.m., an LAPD officer told Weekly.
An employee at Wurstkuche told the Weekly …
… that a customer was hospitalized with minor injuries and that the driver of the white pickup also appeared to need medical attention following the chase.
VENICE: Photo of pick-up in restaurant (end of pursuit) from @cconkle – twitter.com/cconkle/status…
— BHScanner (@BHScanner) February 11, 2013
Multiple injuries: bicyclist got nailed – approx 3 inside restaurant and the POS truck driver – parolee and V13'r twitter.com/Venice311/stat…
— Venice 311 (@Venice311) February 11, 2013
…. Lots of broken legs twitter.com/Venice311/stat…
— Venice 311 (@Venice311) February 11, 2013
Everyone else, he said, “was okay — just a little shaken up.”
The restaurant is at 625 Lincoln Blvd. For more info follow Venice 311.
[Update at 2:01 p.m. Monday]: Police now say that four to five people in the restaurant were injured along with the driver and a bicyclist who was hit during the chase.
City News Service reports what the LAPD told it:
A couple of lights before Vernon [Avenue, on Lincoln], the fugitive driver struck a cyclist, who suffered a broken leg and scrapes, then plowed into a restaurant …
The injured in the restaurant complained of pain only and were hospitalized, police said: The suspect also complained and sustained a bruise.
The suspect was expected to be booked, following his hospital stay, for evading police and hit-and-run, cops said.
[With reporting from City News Service / @dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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