Police say carjacker crashes near Beverly Hills lights, 4 injured

Four people, including a juvenile, were injured after a 22-year-old carjacking suspect plowed into pedestrians and a building during the Rodeo Night Celebration of Holiday Lights in Beverly Hills on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, officials confirmed to KTLA. — Two men, a woman and a boy were injured when they were hit by a car near the annual Rodeo Drive Lighting Festival in Beverly Hills. (KTLA-TV)

A Beverly Hills man was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of stealing a car and injuring four bystanders in a hit-and-run near a Christmas tree lighting event.

According to the Beverly Hills Police Department, the incident happened shortly after 7 p.m. near Wilshire Boulevard and Camden Drive, a block from where hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the annual Rodeo Drive Lighting Festival.

“The black car was going really, really fast … screeching and then lost control and spun and crashed into a bunch of people,” one witness told KTLA.

According to the Police Department, officers arrested 22-year-old James Portul of Pennsylvania in the incident that left two men, a woman and a boy injured. All four victims were taken to local hospitals; their conditions are unknown, police said.

Police received a call about a carjacking in the 400 block of North Bedford Drive at 7:06 p.m. The victim reported the man stole her black BMW X3 and then fled the area, police said.

A short time later, the department received a call about a vehicle collision nearby. The police believe that the suspect in the theft failed to control the car, crashed it and fled.

According to police, officers assigned to the holiday lighting event helped track down and arrest the suspect in the 200 block of South Beverly Drive.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.