Three people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries Friday afternoon after at least eight vehicles collided in a chain-reaction crash on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.
Three people were injured Friday afternoon in a chain-reaction crash involving at least eight vehicles in Sherman Oaks, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The collision occurred at about 4:24 p.m. Friday in the 15100 block of Ventura Boulevard, near Noble Avenue. Aerial footage from a local news helicopter showed at least eight damaged vehicles crumpled together as fire crews worked to clear the scene.
Three people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the fire department. The cause of the crash has not been determined. The Los Angeles Police Department said the incident was not a hit-and-run.
The stretch of Ventura Boulevard near Noble Avenue has a history of serious incidents. In January 2022, a greater-alarm commercial fire gutted a five-business strip mall in the same block, drawing a 75-person response from the fire department. The block was also the target of a December 2024 arson spree that was investigated jointly by LAFD arson investigators and LAPD Major Crimes detectives.
Ventura Boulevard is listed on the city's Vision Zero High Injury Network, a designation the Los Angeles Department of Transportation applies to roughly 6 percent of city streets that account for more than 70 percent of severe traffic injuries and deaths. The corridor carries heavy commuter traffic feeding both the 405 and 101 freeways.
Multi-vehicle crashes like Friday's are typically investigated by the LAPD Valley Traffic Division. Investigators commonly cite California Vehicle Code Section 22350, the Basic Speed Law, and Section 21703, which prohibits following another vehicle too closely.
Friday's crash adds to a string of serious traffic incidents in Sherman Oaks this year. A motorcyclist was killed in a Ventura Boulevard collision near Woodman Avenue in May. A fatal median crash occurred on Sepulveda Boulevard in July, and a fatal motorcycle crash on the southbound 405 in August pushed additional commuter traffic onto surface streets.
This article was generated with AI assistance.