Sylvia Figueroa resultó herida en un accidente por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol en la estación de metro de North Hollywood.

Sylvia Figueroa Fights for Her Life After a Suspected DUI Driver Plows Into Street Vendors Outside the North Hollywood Metro Station

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (12 de noviembre, 2026) – A woman identified as Sylvia Figueroa was critically injured in a DUI accident outside the North Hollywood Metro Station.

Los Angeles County officials are saying that the crash occurred around 5:55 p.m. on Tuesday. Sylvia Figueroa had spent the evening with her friends Teodora Villalobos and Maria Peck near the station on Lankershim Boulevard, where she often helped Villalobos sell hot dogs, when a minivan left the road and struck pedestrians and food vendors on the sidewalk, according to ABC7.

Police said the 61-year-old driver was traveling at an unsafe speed when the minivan veered right and onto the crowded sidewalk during the evening rush hour, according to CNN. First responders were called to the scene, where Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced three women dead, including Villalobos and Peck.

Sylvia Figueroa was hospitalized in critical condition with broken ribs, a bleeding liver, and severe head trauma, according to her husband, Max Figueroa, and her sister-in-law, Eliza Begay. She remains on a breathing tube, and a second woman was also hospitalized.

The driver was hospitalized with minor injuries and later arrested on suspicion of DUI and three counts of murder, according to Patch. He is being held on more than $6 million bail, and formal charges had not been announced as of Wednesday evening.

A GoFundMe relief fund supporting the victims’ families has been organized with Councilmember Adrin Nazarian and the nonprofit ICON CDC.

Lankershim Boulevard between Hatteras Street and Chandler Boulevard was identified as a Vision Zero priority corridor in a Streetsblog LA review of stalled safety projects. With vendors and commuters crowding the sidewalks near the station entrance at rush hour, questions remain about whether bollards or other barriers could have separated them from traffic.

Liability for North Hollywood DUI Accidents

California law treats a vehicle that leaves the roadway and strikes people on a sidewalk as a serious breach of a driver’s duty. Sección 21663 del Código de Vehículos prohibits driving on a sidewalk except to enter or leave adjacent property, and Sección 23153 del Código de Vehículos makes it a crime to drive under the influence and cause bodily injury to another person. Artículo 1714 del Código Civil makes everyone responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care, and Sección 669 del Código de Evidencia presumes negligence when a safety statute is violated and causes the type of harm it was meant to prevent. Responsibility in sidewalk crashes is not always limited to the driver. Investigators and courts may consider several sources of responsibility:

• El conductor: Impairment, speed, and loss of control are central to determining a driver’s fault.
• Dueños de la propiedad: Owners of sites beside busy streets may face questions about whether protective barriers were reasonably needed.
• Public agencies: Cities and transit agencies may be responsible for dangerous conditions on public property, including too little separation between traffic and crowded walkways.
• Propietarios de vehículos: A person who lends a car to someone they know is impaired may face separate liability.
• Alcohol providers: California generally limits the liability of those who serve alcohol, with narrow exceptions written into state law.

California’s Supreme Court has recognized that those who place people beside busy roadways may share responsibility when a vehicle leaves the road. In Bigbee v. Pacific Tel. & Tel. Co. (1983), the court reviewed a case brought by a man who was severely injured when an intoxicated driver lost control, veered into a liquor store parking lot in Inglewood, and struck the telephone booth he was using. The man saw the car coming but could not escape because the booth’s door jammed. The court reversed a judgment for the telephone company and others, holding that whether such a crash was foreseeable was a question for a jury rather than something to be decided as a matter of law. The decision supports the principle that where and how people are positioned near traffic can carry legal responsibility.

Comprensión de las Lesiones Cerebrales Traumáticas

Traumatic brain injuries are among the most serious injuries pedestrians suffer when struck by a vehicle. According to the CDC, there were approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2020 and 68,663 TBI-related deaths in 2023. That amounts to more than 586 hospitalizations and 190 deaths related to brain injuries every day. Severe brain injuries often require intensive care, mechanical ventilation, and long periods of rehabilitation. Families supporting a loved one with a serious brain injury should be aware of several realities:

• Cuidados intensivos: Patients with severe head trauma may need breathing support and close monitoring of pressure inside the skull.
• Hidden effects: Memory loss, personality changes, and difficulty concentrating can emerge as a patient recovers.
• Rehabilitación: Physical, occupational, and speech therapy help many survivors regain skills, sometimes over months or years.
• Cuidadores: Family members often become caregivers and can benefit from support groups and respite services.
• Archivos: Keeping copies of medical records and a journal of symptoms helps doctors track progress over time.

Recovery from a serious brain injury is rarely a straight line, and families often face difficult decisions in the weeks after a crash. Preventing these injuries starts with keeping impaired drivers off the road and separating pedestrians from fast-moving traffic. Transit hubs and busy commercial corridors deserve particular attention because so many people gather there on foot. People hurt by impaired drivers and their families have the right to seek accountability and a full account of what happened. Those answers can also drive the safety changes that protect others.

Investigating DUI Accidents in North Hollywood

Nosotros, en Ley Feher send our heartfelt wishes for a full recovery to Sylvia Figueroa. We also extend our condolences to the families of the three women who lost their lives, and we hope this tragedy leads to accountability and stronger protections for the vendors and riders who gather around the station. This crash raises serious safety concerns for the many people who fill the sidewalks outside North Hollywood’s busiest transit hub. What protections stood between that crowded sidewalk and the traffic on Lankershim Boulevard?

Have you or a loved one been hurt in a DUI or pedestrian accident in North Hollywood or elsewhere in the San Fernando Valley? Laws exist specifically to protect people on sidewalks from drivers who leave the road, and those responsible can be held accountable. When a crash happens near a transit station, the camera footage and maintenance records that show how it unfolded are often controlled by public agencies. Our team of safety advocates and accident investigators can help you understand what happened, from Metro and business security footage to arrest reports and witness accounts. If you need answers to legal questions or help understanding your options, we’re here for you anytime at (424) 433-4412.