Woman Killed in Koreatown Crash

LOS ANGELES, CA — A woman died early Friday after a two-vehicle crash sent one car spinning into a pole and drove another onto a sidewalk in the Koreatown neighborhood, police said. 

The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m. at the intersection of Eighth Street and Ardmore Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A Mercedes Maybach SUV traveling southbound on Ardmore Avenue collided with a Toyota headed westbound on Eighth Street, police said. 

The Toyota spun out and struck a pole. Its driver, identified only as a woman in her 30s, died at the scene. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not yet released her name. 

The Mercedes continued off the roadway after the collision, striking a streetlight and several parked vehicles before coming to rest on a sidewalk. The impact sheared a fire hydrant, sending water shooting into the air, according to authorities. 

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Aftermath and Investigation of the Koreatown Crash 

The driver of the Mercedes was taken to California Hospital Medical Center and later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said. Officers remained at the scene investigating into the early morning hours. 

Investigators have not determined what caused the vehicles to collide or how fast either was traveling before impact. 

Alcohol-impaired driving remains one of the leading causes of traffic deaths in California even as the number of such fatalities has declined in recent years. 

California recorded 1,355 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in 2023, a roughly 4.5% drop from 1,419 the year before, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Preliminary 2024 federal data put the state’s alcohol-impaired fatality count at 1,311, the second-highest total in the country behind Texas, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

NHTSA reported 11,904 alcohol-impaired driving deaths nationwide in 2024, or about one person every 44 minutes. Impaired driving accounted for roughly 30% of all U.S. traffic fatalities that year. 

Eighth Street and Ardmore Avenue sit within one of Los Angeles’ densest residential and commercial corridors. The area carries steady traffic well into the early morning hours from nearby restaurants, bars, and businesses. 

Under California law, a driver who causes a fatal crash while impaired can face both criminal charges and civil liability. California Civil Code Section 1714 establishes a general duty of care, holding individuals responsible for injuries caused by a failure to exercise reasonable caution behind the wheel. 

The surviving family of the woman who died could pursue a wrongful death claim under California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 377.60 and 377.61. Those statutes allow a spouse, children, or other qualifying heirs to seek damages for lost financial support, lost companionship, and funeral expenses. 

A related survival action under Section 377.30 could allow her estate to recover for pain and suffering, medical costs and other losses she experienced before her death. 

An arrest on suspicion of DUI does not establish guilt on its own. But a conviction or a documented blood alcohol level above the legal limit can strengthen a negligence claim by showing a driver breached the standard of care required behind the wheel. 

California follows a comparative negligence standard, which allows an injured party to recover damages even if they bear some fault for a crash. Any recovery is reduced by the injured party’s own share of responsibility. 

California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 gives the woman’s family up to two years from the date of the crash to file a civil lawsuit.