Dramatic video shows aftermath of reported street race that ended in crash with bus

A dramatic video recorded by a bystander shows the fiery aftermath of a reported street race that ended with a vehicle T-boning a Metro bus in South L.A. and good Samaritans looking for injured passengers.

The crash occurred at Western Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, said Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Witnesses told KTLA that a white Dodge Challenger and black Mercedes were racing eastbound on King Boulevard when the Mercedes hit the bus and the Challenger hit other vehicles and flipped over.

Witnesses pulled people out of the smoke-filled Mercedes as flames erupted.

“I open the back door, I see the guy getting burned up on his feet … so a couple of us went inside the car and ripped the seatbelt and got him out,” Miguel Baltazar told KTLA.

The flames were quickly knocked down, Scott said.

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Seven people were injured, with two of them in critical condition, Scott said. Six of those injured were taken to the hospital, and one person opted not to go.

The driver was the only person aboard the bus, Scott said.

“When I came over the police were right there pulling people out. The bus is on fire, then it started exploding so we had to get back,” witness David Caudillo told KTLA.

In a video obtained by KTLA, a woman is seen telling an LAPD officer that the drivers of the Charger and Mercedes were racing before the crash. Authorities are looking for witnesses to come forward, LAPD officials said.

“These guys were racing. They almost crashed into me way back there,” the woman told the officer.

Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.

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