Driver Arrested for DUI After Plowing Into North Hollywood Food Vendors, Killing Three Women

A busy stretch of North Hollywood turned into a scene of carnage Tuesday night when a driver plowed into a group of pedestrians and food vendors outside a Metro station. The devastating crash killed three women and injured two other people. The man behind the wheel has now been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Ihor Demianenko, 61, was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI following the deadly Nov. 10 crash near the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards. His bail was set at more than $6 million. He was reportedly driving a minivan.

The victims, three women ages 40, 53 and 69, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their identities have not yet been publicly released. Two other pedestrians remained hospitalized Wednesday with other injuries.

The crash happened during rush hour around 5:55 p.m., as Demianenko was driving a white minivan southbound on Lankershim Boulevard near the North Hollywood Metro station. Investigators are still trying to determine why and how his van veered off the road and onto the sidewalk, hitting people gathered near the food trucks.

The minivan eventually stopped short beneath a food vendor’s canopy, with a mess of debris scattered across the sidewalk and witnesses frantically scrambling to help the injured.

Witnesses sadly revealed that at least two of the women killed were beloved food vendors who had worked outside the Metro station for years, known to commuters and people in the neighborhood.

Demianenko was trapped inside the badly damaged vehicle and had to be removed by emergency responders. Los Angeles Police Capt. Warner Castillo said he was conscious and able to speak but appeared to be in shock. He was hospitalized in critical condition before being arrested. Police have not shared exactly what evidence led to the DUI arrest or whether toxicology testing has been completed.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators obtained video of the crash and would carefully review the footage to determine exactly what happened.

“Investigators have the video. They’ll run it down and slow motion it and take it frame-by-frame to determine what happened,” McDonnell told reporters, according to ABC7.

At an earlier news conference, Castillo said investigators had not yet determined whether the collision was intentional or accidental. “We don’t know if it was done intentionally, if it was done by accident,” Castillo said.

It was reportedly a horrifying and unbelievable scene as the car tore through the crowded sidewalk. Gian Barbarona, who just barely escaped being hit, told ABC7 the vehicle passed so close that he felt the rush of air against his shoulder.

“I felt the wind of the whoosh, of the wind, on my left shoulder,” Barbarona said. “I initially thought that the car went into the station. That’s how bad it was visually.”

Another witness, Noe Orozco, arrived at the scene to find one of his colleagues, a food vendor he regularly drove to and from work, dead on the sidewalk. Orozco became emotional as he described discovering what had happened.

Nearby burger vendor Luis Luna-Guzman told the Associated Press that he heard a loud boom before seeing people lying on the ground amid scattered food and debris.

He helped a woman near the bike racks who was bleeding from her face, arms and legs. “I told her, ‘Don’t move, help is coming,'” Luna-Guzman remembered.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement Tuesday night, sharing her condolences to the victims’ families and confirming that her office was coordinating with city departments amid the investigation.

“Today, an SUV drove onto a sidewalk near the North Hollywood Metro Station, striking a group of street vendors and pedestrians. Tragically, preliminary reports indicate that three people have lost their lives and others have been injured,” Bass said. “I’m heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted.”

Authorities have not announced whether prosecutors will pursue additional charges related to the three deaths. Developing story.

The post Driver Arrested for DUI After Plowing Into North Hollywood Food Vendors, Killing Three Women appeared first on LAmag.