A man was killed and his girlfriend was seriously injured Monday morning after he lost control of his car and crashed into a Publix grocery store in Hollywood.
Hollywood Police say 24-year-old David Paul-Lamour was driving a Cadillac headed westbound on Hollywood Boulevard just before 3 a.m. and apparently lost control of the vehicle in the traffic circle.
Paul-Lamour crashed into the back of the Publix grocery store, located at 1735 East Young Circle.
The store was empty at the time, but neighbors as well as employees at nearby businesses told NBC 6 that the entire building shook due to the impact of the crash.
"It went in a straight line, lost control and crashed right into the wall of Publix," said Lt. Osvaldo Perez of the Hollywood Police Department.
Police say Paul-Lamour was thrown from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene. His girlfriend, 20-year-old Roxana Villa, was riding with him and was also injured. She was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in critical condition.
It's too early to determine what might have caused the crash, but police indicated that Villa was wearing her seat belt, while Paul-Lamour was not.
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Residents tell NBC 6 that traffic signs were recently put up in the area, and that they've seen several crashes in that same spot.
"It's not really all that uncommon," said Stephen Scott who lives nearby of the crashes. He told NBC 6 that he was sound asleep when the loud sound of the crash woke him up.
"I didn't realize obviously how bad it was because I was half asleep. But now that I realize someone died, I feel terrible," he said.
A spokesperson for Publix told NBC 6 in an email that store hours and operations would not be impacted, but that there might be a delay in store deliveries.
Traffic was shut down on Hollywood Boulevard westbound Monday morning as police and fire rescue crews responded to the scene.
An investigation is ongoing.
Stay with NBC 6 for updates on this developing story.
