Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics took a 30-year-old man to Huntington Memorial Hospital on Wednesday at around 1:10 p.m. after he crashed his truck into the Veterans Square Memorial and then attempted to flee on his bare feet.
LAFD Captain David Navarro said that the driver of the vehicle "appeared to be under the influence of some kind of narcotic," but had not suffered any injuries as a result of the crash.
According to witnesses at the scene, the crash occurred when the driver attempted to cross York Boulevard from the 99-Cents Only parking lot and travel the wrong way on the right-hand-only turning lane on Figueroa.
Juan Rivera, who was traveling north on York, said his Honda Sedan bumped the truck as it attempted to cross the busy street. After that initial crash, Rivera said that the driver got of out his truck and started yelling at him.
"He jumped out and left his truck and left it in gear, and then it rolled into the memorial," Rivera said.
Rivera said he was not injured, and the damage to his car appeared to be minor.
Witnesses who saw the crash said that the victim then took his boots off and began running down North Figueroa Street.
The boots were still on the sidewalk as paramedics attended to the driver.
The right hand turning lane was closed down following the accident, causing traffic to be slowed around the already busy intersection.
