Pedestrian Fatally Injured as Plane Crashes on Street

A pedestrian died and a motorist was in critical condition Wednesday evening after the pilot of a light plane lost power and tried to make an emergency landing at a busy intersection in Southwest Los Angeles, crashing into a car.

The pilot was not believed to be seriously hurt as his single-engine Rockwell Commander 112 collided with the automobile at 120th Street and Vermont Avenue at 6:02 p.m. during the evening rush hour.

The wreckage of the plane and car littered the intersection. Crowds of spectators were drawn to the scene, and surrounding streets were choked by what a Fire Department battalion chief called “an incredible traffic jam.”

The motorist and the pedestrian, both males, were taken to Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital where the pedestrian died a short time later. He was not identified pending notification of relatives. The motorist was reported in critical condition.

The pilot, identified as Suk Tsang, was taken to Memorial Hospital of Gardena. He told authorities that he was headed for Hawthorne Municipal Airport about a mile to the west when his engine failed.

Motorist Butch Woolfolk, 42, said the plane flew in from the east “very low, headed straight at me, 20 to 40 feet off the ground.”

Another witness, Cameron Bonner, said, “It was incredible. . . . The plane threw this pedestrian all the way from one side of the intersection to the other.”