A man was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of stealing a car and injuring four people in a hit-and-run near a holiday tree lighting event in Beverly Hills, authorities said.
According to the Beverly Hills Police Department, the incident occurred near Wilshire Boulevard and Camden Drive just after 7 p.m. The location is one block away from where hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the annual Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration.
“A black car came really fast…screeching, lost control, swerved and hit a bunch of people,” one witness told KTLA.
Police arrested James Poeltl, 22, of Pennsylvania, and injured two men, a woman and a juvenile in the incident, police said. All four victims were taken to local hospitals. Police said their circumstances are unknown.
At 7:06 p.m., police received a report of a carjacking in the 400 block of North Bedford Drive, where the victim said a man had stolen a black BMW X3 and fled the scene, police said.
Shortly after, police received a report that a nearby vehicle had collided. Police believe the carjacking suspect lost control of the vehicle, crashed the car and fled.
Police said officers assigned to the Christmas lighting event assisted in the pursuit and arrest of the suspect in the 200 block of South Beverly Drive.
