Hijacked bus smashes into LA traffic

A woman has been killed and seven people injured after a hijacked bus smashed into traffic as police chased it through Los Angeles.

A woman driver was killed and seven people injured today when a gunman hijacked a bus which smashed into oncoming traffic as it was chased by police through city streets.

During the chase in central Los Angeles in the USA the bus smashed into a van, killing the woman driver, and a parcels delivery vehicle before careering across the pavement and crashing to a halt in a car park.

The dramatic pursuit, through more than a dozen city blocks, which was captured from the air on TV cameras, mirrored scenes from the action thriller film Speed, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.

It ended with the bus crashing into a van at a crossroads and pushing it violently into a parked United Parcel Service delivery van.

The bus then veered violently on to the pavement and into more than a half-dozen vehicles in a car park.

The hijacker was quickly arrested as he attempted to flee from the carnage.

The death of the woman van driver was confirmed by the Fire Department.

The injured included the woman bus driver, five passengers on the bus, and the UPS driver. One person was in critical condition, said a hospital spokesman.

Police said they began chasing the suspect after he shot a man in the stomach outside the offices of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union representing city police.

The man evaded police by getting on the bus, apparently at a bus stop.

He held a gun to the driver’s head and forced her to drive.

‘‘With a gun to her head, it was clear the driver was scared. She was doing whatever she could to stay alive,’’ said police Sgt John Pasquariello.

The driver, Emma Gutierrez, was taken to hospital where she was in a stable condition with unspecified injuries.

People treated at the scene were ‘‘scared and shocked,’’ said witnesses.

After the crash, police fired at the gunman as he fled around a corner and climbed into a parked car.

He was pulled out and tackled by a half-dozen police officers.

The man continued to struggle as he was placed in a police car and tried to kick open the rear doors.