The driver of a minivan that hopped a curb and barreled onto the sidewalk in North Hollywood Tuesday night, killing three people, has been booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and three counts of murder, the Los Angeles Police Department said.<\/p>\n
Ihor Demianenko, 61, is being held on more than $6 million bail in Van Nuys, jail records show, in connection with the deadly crash, which occurred just before 6 p.m. in the 3500 block of North Lankershim Boulevard.<\/p>\n
According to witnesses, the minivan jumped the curb near Chandler Boulevard, steps from the North Hollywood B Line Metro station, and barreled into a food vendor stand and a crowd of people.<\/p>\n
Three pedestrians were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others and the driver were taken to a hospital for treatment, Capt. Mike Bland, an LAPD spokesperson, said Tuesday evening. <\/p>\n
Bland said the vehicle was traveling southbound on Lankershim. It is unclear what caused the crash. <\/p>\n
The incident occurred in a typically busy area packed with evening commuters. Vendors are often at train stop entrances on either side of Lankershim to serve coffee, pastries, tamales and other snacks to people traveling on the Metro. <\/p>\n
The crash resulted in a massive response from law enforcement and paramedics. A Toyota Sienna with significant damage to its right side, including a mangled passenger door, remained at the crash site on Tuesday evening, all four of its wheels over the curb beneath a blue canopy tent. Lying several feet away was a collapsed red canopy tent surrounded by debris, including soda cans and what appeared to be a sheet pan.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst responders are on the scene, and my office is closely coordinating with City departments as authorities work to determine what caused this horrific incident,\u201d Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement on X. \u201cI\u2019m heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kassandra Guzman, 12, was sitting at her family\u2019s smash burger stand across Lankershim when she saw a car barreling down Lankershim drive straight through the blue tarp where a number of food vendors usually set up. <\/p>\n
The vendors sell coffee, tamales, hot dogs and pastries, according to Guzman, who said the people who were injured have been working there for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just glad it wasn\u2019t my family, but it still hurts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n