Christine Elizabeth Dahab, 27, was arrested this morning for allegedly driving her car into a group of about 50 late-night bicyclists near the Los Angeles-Culver City border early this morning, leaving two cyclists hospitalized in critical condition, four in serious condition and three with lesser injuries. UPDATE at 6:44 p.m.: According to Los Angeles County Jail records, Dahab was released just before 11:30 a.m. this morning.
The crash in the 5900 block of West Jefferson Place was reported at 1:49 a.m. said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said. According to cyclist Albert Sabaté, they were standing in front of the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook when the crash occurred. Dahab was arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence and is in custody at the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Division jail in lieu of $15,000 bail, said Officer Lyle Knight, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.
The bicyclists from the group ''Midnight Ridazz'' rode from Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in Westlake and were stopped on the side of the road when a driver in a white Honda Civic crashed into the group, CBS2 reported. The cyclists were participating in Koreatown’s “Kushtown Wednesdays” weekly ride when the car drove through the stationary cyclist in the eastbound lanes, cyclist Albert Sabate said in an email to Patch.com.
The driver “went right through the crowd,” said cyclist Nathanial Arias. “People were flying and bikes were destroyed.”
Said cyclist Jose San Juan: “I feel this big emotion, I feel like crying. I saw everything, I have that whole picture in my mind when everyone was splatting.
“I just can’t believe it,” he kept repeating in a shaky voice.
Officer Lyle Knight has described the investigation as being in a "very fluid" state, as investigtors are trying to determine wheter the cyclists contributed to the accident by blocking the road.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: Albert Sabaté, a freelance journalist on the bike ride, contributed cyclist quotes and images.
