LOS ANGELES — The 61-year-old driver of a minivan that killed three people when it crashed outside a Los Angeles metro station during rush hour was arrested on three counts of murder, a police spokesperson said Wednesday.
Police have said the driver was taken out of the vehicle and was able to talk, but he appeared in shock after Tuesday's crash. Officials were not immediately able to determine the cause or whether he acted intentionally.
Police identified the driver as Ihor Demianenko, a resident of the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Officer Norma Eisenman said. He was booked on three counts of murder, although the police spokesperson said she didn’t know whether he was still at a hospital early Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if Demianenko had a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.
The crash at a busy intersection in the North Hollywood neighborhood also critically injured two women. The vehicle ended up under a food vendor’s tent, and Mayor Karen Bass said the victims included street vendors and pedestrians.
Investigators will go through video of the crash frame by frame, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said.
“It will be probably a prolonged but a very deliberate investigation to determine what happened here,” he said.
Luis Luna-Guzman was working at a burger stand nearby when he heard a loud boom and saw people on the ground along with food and cups. People nearby started running toward the crash.
As he moved closer, he found an injured woman lying near the bike racks, her face, arms and legs bloody, he said, recalling her eyes were closed as she moaned in pain.
“I told her, ‘Don’t move, help is coming,’” Luna-Guzman said, adding that he saw a woman’s body nearby, while another woman was lying unmoving on the stairs leading to the station.
Adrin Nazarian, a Los Angeles City Council member whose district includes North Hollywood, described the area as a close-knit community where there is always commotion and activity.
The minivan was on the sidewalk surrounded by debris Tuesday night with its driver’s side door left open and an air bag deployed. Fire engines and emergency crews worked nearby as a helicopter flew overhead.
One entrance to the metro remained closed Tuesday night, but otherwise the property wasn’t impacted and the stations for the bus and subway were open, according to Jose Ubaldo, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
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