Teacher Dies, 8 Students Hurt When Car Slams Into Crowd

A teacher was killed and eight students were injured Wednesday when an out-of-control car jumped a curb in Culver City and slammed into them as they returned to their school from a nearby park.

Both the driver of the car and her male passenger fled the scene but were later arrested. They were identified as Laura Samayoa, 20, of Los Angeles, and Reynaldo Cruz, 19, also of Los Angeles, said Lt. Chris Maddox of the Culver City Police Department.

One witness said the pair climbed out through a car window and stepped over the fallen teacher as they ran off.

Police said Samayoa told them that she and her boyfriend had been arguing and that he grabbed the steering wheel, forcing the car onto the sidewalk.

She was arrested shortly after leaving the scene.

Cruz made arrangements through his attorney to surrender and arrived at the Culver City police station Wednesday evening for booking, said Sgt. Brian Fitzpatrick.

Both remained in custody Wednesday night. They were being held on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit and run with a death, Fitzpatrick said. Bail was set at $400,000 for each.

Culver City Police Lt. Dean Williams said the accident occurred about 3 p.m. as about 15 students, ages 10 to 13, and some faculty members were returning to Turning Point School from nearby Syd Kronenthal Park. Williams said students and faculty regularly visit the park on National Boulevard because of a lack of playground facilities at the private school.

One witness, Tennyson Collins, who works in a building across the street from the scene on National near Jefferson Avenue, said he had just walked outside when the accident occurred.

“I heard screeching tires and an impact, and then I saw bodies flying through the air,” he said.

Another witness, Beverly Strong, whose second-floor office overlooks National, said she heard the crash and then the screaming.

“Right away I called 911,” she said. “There were people strewn all over the street. It looked like a war zone.”

Collins said he saw the car plow through the group, spin around and end up facing the opposite direction. The teacher lay nearby, and shoes were scattered all around the car.

Samayoa and Cruz emerged from the driver’s-side window and ran in different directions, he said.

Collins, who works for an educational software firm, said he began chasing Samayoa, who ran east on National toward Jefferson. He said she appeared to be trying to flag down a ride. Collins said that when he caught her, he yelled, “You have to come back, you have to come back. You’ll only make it worse.’ ”

He said he grabbed Samayoa just as a police cruiser pulled up. Collins said he told officers that she was the woman driving the car, and they took her into custody.

Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said five people required immediate care and that three others suffered lesser injuries. Williams said the students had moderate injuries, including broken bones. They were taken to Brotman and UCLA medical centers for treatment.

The name of the teacher who was killed was not released.

The accident occurred shortly before parents started arriving to pick up their children. The school brought in crisis managers to offer counseling to students, parents and faculty.

Charles Gibson, the school facilities manager, said there were “a whole lot of upset people dealing with the situation.”

The school was founded in 1970 as a nonprofit coed facility and was originally named Montessori of West Los Angeles.

In 1989, the name was changed to Turning Point, and it moved to its National campus in 2001. Tuition this year was $17,460 for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and $18,980 for middle school.

Collins said the accident was at the same spot where two other fatalities occurred in the last six months -- a hit-and-run death and a motorcyclist killed in a collision with a car.

Strong, a talent manager for Talent Management Production Co., said people in her building have been complaining to city officials for years about the hazardous conditions on the busy street.

“We keep telling the city that they need to do something to stop the speeders, but they haven’t,” she said.

“People speed down this street like it’s the ... 405. The last time I talked to [city officials] I told them, ‘Are you going to wait until kids get killed, then do something?’ This was horrendous. It’s inexcusable. It could have been avoided.”

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Times staff writer Cynthia H. Cho contributed to this report.