“Earthquake” Pickup Crash Shakes Apartment, Punches Hole in Kitchen

The pickup ripped the side off a corner residence next the the complex's entrance on West Vanowen Street

Two people were hospitalized Friday morning after a pickup driver crashed into a residential building in the west San Fernando Valley.

The Nissan Titan driver, identified only as woman in her 30s, and a passenger were hospitalized, but authorities said they did not suffer major injuries. There was no indication the driver was under the influence of alcohol, according to authorities.

Building safety inspectors responded to the location in the 13000 block of West Vanowen Street in Van Nuys to determine the extent of the damage. The crash ripped off the side of a corner residence, which is next to the complex's driveway.

The front of the pickup ended up inside what appeared to be the kitchen.

"I don't know how safe it is," the homeowner Gabriel Izanian. "But, we'll fix it up."

Izanian was not injured.

"We thought it was an earthquake," said another resident. "It was very scary."

An upstairs apartment resident said she heard and felt the crash at about 6:30 a.m.

"I felt a big "boom" sound," said Morgan Jackson. "The building shook.

"We've been having accidents like this for the last couple months. Every couple months we have an accident on this street."

No other vehicles were involved in the collision. The driver told police the crash involved a mechanical failure before the pickup crashed over a curb in front of the apartment.

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