A driver suspected of being under the influence was arrested early Thursday after crashing into several parked cars along a residential block in Harvard Heights, Los Angeles police said, leaving the street strewn with twisted metal and prompting an outpouring of alarm from neighbors.

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau responded about 2:15 a.m. to calls reporting a crash in the 1700 block of South Oxford Avenue, where officers found a sedan with heavy front-end damage and at least five parked vehicles struck and pushed onto the curb, according to an LAPD statement. The driver, whose name has not been released, was in custody at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence. No fatalities were reported; one resident was treated for minor injuries by paramedics, the department said.

“We arrested the driver on scene for suspected DUI,” an LAPD spokesperson said. “An investigation is ongoing; the vehicle was impounded and the driver was booked pending further testing.” The spokesperson said preliminary field sobriety tests indicated impairment, and that breath-test results were being processed by officers at the station.

Neighbors described a loud impact that woke residents and rattled windows. “It sounded like someone slammed into a row of mailboxes and then kept going,” said Ana Ruiz, who lives two houses from where the crash occurred. “We’re lucky it happened late when fewer people were outside, but this is our neighborhood — we want to feel safe walking home.”

Incidents involving parked cars can produce significant property damage and insurance claims even when they do not cause serious bodily harm. For the parties involved, repair bills, towing, and potential surcharge on insurance premiums often follow, and in cases of arrest, drivers face criminal exposure that can include fines, license suspension and, depending on injury, felony charges.

The crash in Harvard Heights comes amid continued attention to impaired driving as a public-safety issue. Federal traffic-safety data show that roughly one-third of traffic fatalities involve alcohol-impaired drivers, a proportion that has remained stubbornly high over the last decade. Municipalities including Los Angeles have periodically increased enforcement through sobriety checkpoints and targeted patrols, but advocates and some officials say enforcement alone has limits without broader interventions such as expanded late-night transit options and stronger alcohol-server training.

City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, whose district includes parts of central Los Angeles, said in a statement that incidents like Thursday’s “underscore the need for coordinated public-safety and prevention strategies.” He urged the LAPD to brief the community on the investigation and for the city’s transportation and public-health agencies to pursue preventive measures.

For residents of Harvard Heights, the crash has revived demands for calmer streets and more visible enforcement. “We want to see more officers out here, yes, but also better lighting and traffic calming,” Ruiz added. “Something has to give before someone gets seriously hurt.”

As investigators complete toxicology and compile evidence, the LAPD said it would forward its findings to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for charging decisions. Meanwhile, tow trucks and crews cleared the damaged vehicles Thursday morning, and the neighborhood began the slow work of picking up the pieces left behind after a single night of carelessness.