

Skid Row (Photo by Shabdro Photo via the LAist Featured Photos pool)

A black Mercedes-Benz ran over a man and woman sleeping on the sidewalk in Skid Row around midnight last night. Both victims were killed.

The out-of-control, speeding car "ran off the road, hit the building, went down the sidewalk and ran over two people sleeping on the sidewalk," a sergeant named Bailey (no first name given) told City News Service.

It happened around 12:05 am last night near Crocker and Fourth Streets. Two men and two women got out of the car and fled on foot, but one man and one woman later returned to the scene, and they were taken in for questioning. Police said speed appears to be a factor since the car kept going 50 feet after hitting the building. Initial reports didn't mention whether drugs or alcohol were involved.

The coroner's officers is working on ID'ing the victims.

UPDATE 12:15 pm: Carmen Elena Chavez, 19, has been arrested for vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving in the case, police told City News Service. She allegedly lost control of her Mercedes as she made a right turn at an unsafe speed. Chavez is one of the people who returned to the scene after fleeing. She was given a field sobriety test that she failed. She was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Related:

Woman Hit, Killed by 19-Yr-Old Drunk Driver on Skid Row IDed