Pickup Truck Strikes a Boyle Heights Taco Stand, Injuring One Person

Yesterday morning at 11 a.m. an out-of-control pickup truck crashed into Los Dos Gallos taco stand on the corner of Soto and Olympic Boulevard in Boyle Heights, across from a Starbucks and the iconic former Sears building. CBS LA reported that one person was seriously injured because they were wedged under the truck, while flying debris hit some other people, though they did not end up with serious injuries that required visits to the hospital.

The crash seemed to have destroyed the stand, according to news video and also footage from a bystander on the scene by the name of Johanna Ramirez, who was inside of the Starbucks but came outside to the street after hearing a large crash sound. According the CBS, the driver said the brakes on the car went out, causing the accident. The police did not determine that drunk driving or anything other factor was involved, though the exact cause of the crash is under investigation.

Just last week, the city of LA made its final recommendations for new rules regarding street vending that would comply with Governor Jerry Brown’s new state laws. One of the new rules in LA would be a two vendor-per-block rule that would limit the number of street vendors, and potentially prevent the clustering of multiple vendors. Regardless, there are multiple such street markets that sprout up around the city on a daily or weekly basis, like the predominantly Guatemalan market at the corner of Bonnie Brae and 6th Streets, as well as the unofficial Mercado Olympic in LA’s Industrial District southeast of Downtown. It’s estimated that there are upwards of 50,000 street vendors in Los Angeles and its environs.

• One Seriously Hurt When Pickup Truck Strikes Food Vendor in Boyle Heights [CBS LA]