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LOS ANGELES — The driver of a minivan that slammed into sidewalk vendors and pedestrians near a Los Angeles subway stop, killing three, was allegedly driving under the influence and has been arrested on murder counts, police said Wednesday.
Ihor Demianenko, 61, is accused of being under the influence when he crashed into people outside the North Hollywood Metro stop at around 5:55 p.m. Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
The impact caused pedestrians and debris to go flying in different directions, police said.
Three women, between 40 and 60 years old, were killed, the LAPD said. Police did not publicly identify them Wednesday pending the notification of next of kin.
Two other women, between 50 and 55 years old, were in critical condition Wednesday, police said. The LAPD initially said the driver was in critical condition, but in an update Wednesday, it said Demianenko’s injuries were minor.
Mayor Karen Bass said the people who were struck were pedestrians and vendors.
“I’m heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted,” Bass said.
The crash happened at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards, where a subway stop is located.
Aerial video from NBC Los Angeles showed what appeared to be a white vehicle crashed into the side of the station, where escalators and stairs go down to the subway, and debris scattered over the area.
“It was a huge boom,” Lincoln Brown, who was walking away from the station at the time, told NBC Los Angeles.
“I was walking the opposite direction, but I heard a loud crash behind me,” he said. “I turn around, and I see a car that’s smashed up against the Metro over there.”
A witness said two women selling hot dogs were thrown in the air from the impact, the station reported.
“She was a fixture of this neighborhood,” a witness told NBC Los Angeles of one of the vendors, describing how she appeared to work at the same corner every day. “I’m devastated for her and her family.”
Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, who won last week’s mayoral election over Bass, said then entire community was shaken by the tragedy.
“My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of those killed in North Hollywood last night. Reports that among those killed were street vendors who had spent years serving this community make this loss especially devastating,” Raman said.
Los Angeles City Council member Adrin Nazarian, who represents Hollywood, said the driver was under the influence of alcohol.
The driver “veered to the right, running off the road” before striking the people on the sidewalk, he said.
Demianenko’s bail was set at more than $6 million, according to police and jail records.
It was not clear whether Demianenko had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
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