Elderly Man Crashes Into Pedestrians At Irvine Amphitheatre, 9 Injured

Jack Phillips
9/4/2016
Updated:
9/4/2016

An elderly driver struck several pedestrians in Irvine, California, on Saturday night.

The male driver, who was not identified, hit a fence and an unoccupied police vehicle in the parking lot of the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre after 6 p.m. local time.

The crash bumped the police vehicle onto the lawn near the box office, hitting several people who were partaking in a picnic before a concert, Irvine police said in a statement.

Four victims suffered serious injuries, police added.

Officials told NBC Los Angeles there is no evidence the driver was intoxicated.

Mike Hallinan, spokesman for the Irvine Police Department, told the Los Angeles Times: “Right now this is noncriminal and there is no indication that drugs and/or alcohol were a factor in this crash.”

Neal Weiss shared photos of the accident on Facebook, saying that a white Mercedes accelerated “out of control and slammed into” a police vehicle.

“There were about 100 concert-goers picnicking just on the other [side] of the Irvine [police] SUV,” he said. “People were running in all directions,” he added.

The incident is currently under investigation.

Those with information about the crash are asked to contact IPD Detective Jon Cherney at 949-724-7024.

The people were picnicking before the Pacific Symphony. Several of those who were hurt were still in the hospital as of Sunday morning, NBC reported.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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