Just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday a white Toyota Sienna minivan traveling south on Lankershim Boulevard in Los Angeles veered off the road and plowed into a group of pedestrians and street vendors on a sidewalk near the North Hollywood Metro station.
The crash killed three women and left two others critically injured. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the driver was traveling at an unsafe speed and drove around another car before losing control, colliding with a traffic light, and ending up beneath a public transit shelter and a food vendor’s tent.
Authorities identified the driver as 61-year-old Ihor Demianenko of the Valley Village neighborhood, Gulf News reported. Police said that Demianenko was determined to be under the influence at double the legal limit, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Emergency responders from the Los Angeles Fire Department pronounced three women dead at the scene. Among those identified by family members and local reporting were 57-year-old Teodora Villalobos, a mother of three from El Salvador, and Maria Peck, a mother of five. Paramedics transported two additional women in critical condition to a local hospital.
Chief Jim McDonnell said that his detectives will conduct a “prolonged but very deliberate investigation” into the incident, according to NBC Los Angeles. Investigators are currently gathering surveillance video and interviewing witnesses to determine the exact sequence of events.
Arrest and Charges at the Scene
Demianenko remained trapped inside his vehicle following the impact as pedestrians and property were thrown in different directions, police said. Fire officials and police officers extracted him from the wreckage.
When he was removed from the vehicle, Demianenko was conscious and able to speak, but appeared to be in shock, LAPD Captain Warner Castillo said at a brief news conference. Police initially responded to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon involving a vehicle.
Medical personnel transported Demianenko to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries and evaluation by DUI experts. Authorities subsequently booked him on three counts of murder, with his bail set at over $6 million.
“We don’t know if the crash was deliberate, but he’s at the hospital now, and that’s why we have our experts right now testing the driver of the vehicle,” Castillo said, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Community Impact in North Hollywood
The intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards serves as a busy commercial and transit hub in the San Fernando Valley. Neighbors and local witnesses described the victims as familiar fixtures of the neighborhood who sold food outside the metro station daily.
“She was a fixture of this neighborhood,” a witness named Steve told NBC Los Angeles, describing one of the vendors. “I’m devastated for her and her family. And I’m sure all these people around are not here to be looky loos. They’re here because they care about the situation.”
Elected officials expressed condolences to the families affected by the evening rush-hour collision. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement addressing the tragedy.
“I’m heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a Nov. 10 statement on social media, reported by NBC Los Angeles. “First responders are on the scene, and my office is closely coordinating with City departments as authorities work to determine what caused this horrific incident.”
Police have not yet publicly identified the third deceased woman pending notification of her next of kin. It remained unclear whether a second vehicle played a role in the collision, and court records did not immediately indicate whether Demianenko had retained an attorney to respond to the allegations.
