Los Angeles, Ca
‘It was humiliating’: Woman said she was removed from L.A. flight over medical condition
A woman said she was humiliated after trying to board a flight from Los Angeles but was prevented from doing so due to a rare skin condition.
Brianna Solari, a nurse from Sacramento, had flown to L.A. to undergo a specialized surgery for tumors caused by a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis.
The condition causes non-cancerous tumors to grow all over the skin and nervous system.
“I’m aware of how I look with all of these scabs on me,” Solari said of her appearance. “I know it’s unpleasant. I suffer from a genetic illness and I got surgery to improve my appearance and self-esteem.”
On her return flight home on Aug. 1, Solari headed to the Hollywood Burbank Airport and made sure to cover up with a facemask and headband. She had a ticket for a Southwest Airlines flight.
As Solari boarded the plane and sat down, she was suddenly approached by an airline crewmember who asked her to leave.
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Brianna Solari is seen in a personal photo. -
Brianna Solari is seen in a personal photo. -
The Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank California. (KTLA) -
A Southwest Airlines jetliner waits on a runway for departure from Denver International Airport Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) -
Brianna Solari is seen in a personal photo. -
View of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, formally the Bob Hope Airport on September 16, 2020 in Burbank, California. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
“He said there were some concerns about whether or not I had any kind of communicable disease,” Solari said. “He mentioned chickenpox specifically.”
She was taken back to the boarding gate where she explained about her rare medical condition.
“Essentially, I lack a protein which is a tumor suppressor and that causes tumors to grow under and on the skin, along nerves,” she said.
Solari told airline employees she had just received surgery and her condition was not contagious. She offered to show the discharge paperwork from the hospital. However, Solari said she was denied.
“He said, ‘No, we can’t see that,’ and then he got on the telephone with somebody I don’t know,” she recalled.
She was told she wouldn’t be allowed to reboard until she was examined by emergency medical services at the airport.
“They were on the phone with the physician who oversees EMS services that contract with the airport,” Solari said. When she asked to speak with that doctor, she was also denied.
Solari called her own doctor’s office and asked them to email a letter of medical clearance which she eventually received.
“I had to give my phone to the employees and they read the [clearance] letter to the [airport] physician,” she recalled. “Then they said, ‘Oh well, okay, she can go.’”
After the frustrating ordeal, Solari said she waited five hours to be placed on another flight.
“It was embarrassing,” she said. “It was humiliating. It’s absolutely shameful what they did. This is no way to treat somebody.”
According to federal regulations, passengers with a medical condition cannot be denied air travel unless their condition can be determined to pose a direct threat.
Southwest Airlines released a statement on the incident saying:
“We are disheartened to learn of the Customer’s experience flying with us and extend our deepest apologies for the inconvenience. Even though our Team ultimately received clearance for the Customer to travel, we weren’t able to do so in time for the flight’s departure. We rebooked her on a later flight, offered a travel voucher for a future flight along with a meal voucher, and we’re following up with her directly to discuss the situation.”
Solari hopes her story will serve as a learning lesson for better treatment of passengers with medical conditions.
Following the humiliating ordeal, she said she would never fly with Southwest Airlines again.
“Believe it when people say, ‘I had surgery,’” Solari said. “I shouldn’t have to discuss this with airline employees who are not medical professionals.”
Authorities discovered millions of dollars worth of counterfeit luxury goods in a downtown Los Angeles bust.
On May 14, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at two locations — a retail store in the 500 Block of South Los Angeles Street and a commercial warehouse in the 500 Block of Main Street.
Inside the warehouse, deputies found a significant amount of counterfeit luxury merchandise. In total, the retail value of the goods was estimated between $5 million and $10 million.
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Authorities discovered a warehouse filled with counterfeit luxury goods worth an estimated $5-$10 million in a downtown Los Angeles bust operation on May 14, 2026. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Two unidentified suspects, a man and a woman, were taken into custody.
“This remains an active investigation,” LASD said. “Additional arrests or charges are possible as the case progresses.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call LASD’s Major Crimes Bureau’s Tip Line at 562-946-7893.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
At least one person was critically injured in a house fire that erupted in Montebello early Thursday morning.
Crews responded to the blaze engulfing a detached unit in the 100 block of South 5th Street near West Whittier Boulevard around 5 a.m.
Flames quickly spread to a nearby electrical pole, blowing a fuse and knocking out power in the area. Sparks could be seen as a loud pop was heard in a Citizen.com video later obtained by KTLA.
At least one person was believed to be in critical condition due to burn injuries, though officials have not released further details.
There was no immediate word on a possible cause of the fire.
A neighbor told KTLA that three people lived inside the home, including a child.
This is a developing story.
Authorities revealed new details Wednesday afternoon about the violent Santa Clarita crash involving a city transit bus, an overturned semi truck and two other vehicles that left 13 people injured.
According to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, the driver of a semi truck hauling a full load of gravel may have been traveling as fast as 70 mph when the vehicle approached a yellow light at the intersection of Golden Valley Road and Centre Pointe Parkway around 9:30 a.m.
Investigators said the driver then attempted to make a right turn to avoid running the red light before crashing into the bus and two passenger vehicles.
“[The driver] tried to make a right-hand turn to avoid running the red light and then crashed into the bus and the other two passenger vehicles,” Capt. Brandon Barclay of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station told KTLA.
Officials noted that the speed limit on Golden Valley Road is 50 mph.
Sky5 aerial footage showed the heavily damaged Santa Clarita Transit bus pushed onto a curb while the semi truck overturned nearby, and another vehicle appeared pinned beneath the front right side of the bus.
“When you look at it, it looks like a scene from Universal CityWalk,” Barclay said.
Authorities said 13 people were injured in the crash.
One passenger seated in the back of the bus had to be freed using the Jaws of Life and remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, KTLA’s Angeli Kakade reported.
Seven additional people were transported to hospitals while five others declined medical treatment at the scene.
“You have a bus that was hit by a semi truck, so it’s very impactful for this community,” Barclay added.
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Sky5 was over a multi-vehicle crash involving a city bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (KTLA) -
Sky5 was over a multi-vehicle crash involving a city bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (KTLA) -
Sky5 was over a multi-vehicle crash involving a city bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (KTLA) -
Sky5 was over a multi-vehicle crash involving a city bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (KTLA) -
Sky5 was over a multi-vehicle crash involving a city bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (KTLA) -
Sky5 was over a multi-vehicle crash involving a city bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (KTLA)
Former Santa Clarita transit bus driver Darryl Richardson said he was stunned when he saw the aftermath of the crash.
“I know how a person feels to see a big old truck coming right at you,” Richardson told KTLA. “Thank God if it had broadsided the driver, we’d be talking about a different conversation right now.”
The City of Santa Clarita said road closures around the crash scene were expected to continue for several hours as deputies investigated what led up to the collision.
All directions of Centre Pointe Parkway between Golden Valley Road and Ruether Avenue remained closed Wednesday afternoon. Eastbound Golden Valley Road was also shut down from Robert C. Lee Parkway to Centre Pointe Parkway.
Drivers were urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
The crash remains under investigation.
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