Carjacker Crashes Into Crowd After Holiday Tree-Lighting Ceremony: PD

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A 22-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested Thursday night after driving a stolen SUV into a crowd of people gathered near a holiday tree-lighting event, injuring four people, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.

A woman called police just after 7 p.m. Thursday to report that a man had used force to steal her black BMW X3 on the 400 block of North Bedford Drive before fleeing the area, police said.

Shortly after that, the driver of the stolen SUV lost control and crashed near Wilshire Boulevard and Camden Drive, about a block away from the city’s annual Rodeo Nights, Holiday Lights event, police said.

"A black car came speeding really, really fast ... 80 mph or something, screeching and then lost control, swerved over here and slammed into a bunch of people," witness Carol Bartolotto told KTLA at the scene.

The driver fled the scene on foot. Two men, one woman and one boy were transported to local hospitals for treatment, police said. Their conditions are not known.

Police detained the suspect shortly after the crash on the 200 block of South Beverly Drive.

James Portul, 22, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was arrested on a charge of carjacking and hit and run with injury, police said. He's being held on $100,000 bail and is due in court on Monday, according to jail records.