Vehicle plows into pedestrians in Los Angeles, killing three

No official details were immediately available about the incident, which happened shortly before 6 p.m. PST (0200 GMT). A police spokesperson said investigators had yet to determine if the crash was accidental or deliberate.

"We need to understand exactly what happened and what led to this tragedy," Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement. "I will be closely following the investigation and seeking additional information as the facts emerge."

Three people hit by the vehicle were declared dead at the scene, while two pedestrians and the driver of the vehicle, were taken to hospitals, the Los Angeles police and fire departments said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the SUV drove onto a sidewalk and struck a group of street vendors and pedestrians, adding that first responders were on the scene and that her office was working closely with city departments.

"I’m heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted," she added on X, promising updates as more information came in.

Television station KCAL-TV, a CBS News affiliate, said a car crashed into a food stand near a bus stop along Lankershim Boulevard a major road through the busy NoHo commercial and arts district in the city's San Fernando Valley.

A small white partially crumpled SUV appeared to have run up on to the sidewalk under a blue canopy to hit the side of a mass-transit shelter structure, aerial news images from KCAL showed.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh in Washington and Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Michelle Nichols, Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)