Man arrested in Beverly Hills carjacking and hit-and-run that injured 4

A man was arrested Thursday night after police say he carjacked a BMW and struck four people in Beverly Hills.

At 7:06 p.m., officers responded to a reported carjacking in the 400 block of North Bedford Drive. The woman told officers a man stole her black BMW X3 and took off. Officers then received another 911 call regarding a traffic accident.

During the initial information gathering, it was discovered that the driver of the involved stolen vehicle lost control and crashed near Wilshire Boulevard and Camden Drive," according to the department ."The driver fled the scene on foot, leaving behind multiple injured victims."

Police said two men, one woman, and a male juvenile were taken to the hospital.

The crash happened during the annual holiday lighting ceremony in Beverly Hills. A man who witnessed the collision spoke with KNX News' Craig Fiegener.

"We thought, 'Oh, he's going awfully fast,' and then we heard the engine rev," the guy said. "[The driver] slammed right into the building and when we turned around, we thought it was maybe somebody who made a mistake [and] hit the gas instead of the brake. Then the suspect jumped out of the car and took off. That's when we noticed some people were hurt."

He added that he noticed a dog was under the car.

"So I'm the one screaming, 'There's a dog under the car!'" he said.

The guy said the dog seemed to be ok.

Officers who were assigned to the event found the suspect and arrested him.

Police identified the suspect as 22-year-old James Portul. He was arrested on suspicion of carjacking and hit-and-run with injury.