25 sheriff's department recruits hit by SUV traveling wrong direction

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A total of 25 recruits with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were injured after they were hit by a vehicle driving the wrong direction, authorities said on Wednesday.

Five members of the recruiting class are listed in critical condition, with four in moderate condition, and 14 in minor condition, according to the L.A. County Fire Department, which initially reported 23 patients.

The critical injuries included head trauma, broken bones and loss of limbs, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a briefing on Wednesday.

"It looked like an airplane wreck. There were so many bodies scattered everywhere in different states of injury that it was pretty traumatic for all individuals involved," Villanueva said.

"We're just facing some life-altering injuries for some most severely injured recruits. This is this is very, very odd, to say the least. I don't think I've ever heard of this."

The recruits from the STARS Center Training Academy were in the midst of a training run in Whittier, Calif., when they were struck around 6:26 a.m. PST, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said in a post on Facebook.

"They were running, doing their morning training exercise when this person ran into them," Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Sheila Kelliher said at a news conference.

The 22-year-old driver of the SUV involved was detained pending further investigation and suffered only minor injuries.

Authorities said the man also crashed the vehicle into a light pole. They confirmed he veered into oncoming traffic before the crash. Officers administered a field sobriety test at the scene but did not release the results.

The recruits were assigned to the training academy in Whittier, around 15 miles inland from the coast and 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

"I just felt sick. Here were all those recruits on their morning run who basically got plowed into by this driver," L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn told KTTV-11.

"We're hoping they pull through."