At today’s night, October 19, Kharkiv, automobile ‘Lexus’, driving by a woman born in 1997, moving through the red light, crashed into the car ‘Volkswagen Touareg’ on a huge speed.
‘Lexus’ was thrown on the sidewalk of Sumskaya street (central city street – ed.), where many pedestrians were.
Drivers are alive, they were sent for examination for alcohol or narcotic intoxication. At the beginning it was reported about the five dead, later, the head of PR-Department of MIA Artem Shevchenko reported that a number of dead has grown to six. The girl among died was 15. Six more people got injured. One of them is pregnant.
The criminal proceeding on the art.286, p.3 (violation of traffic safety rules or the operation of vehicles by persons driving vehicles) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was opened.
Lexus RX 350 was moving on Sumskaya street to the side of Opera theatre and Volkswagen was going from the side of Bursatsky uzviz (perpendicular street). After the clash Lexus crashed into the crowd of people standing on the sidewalk. The car was driven by 20-year-old Elena Zaitseva, the daughter of Vasily Zaitsev, the Chairman of the Board, General Director in PJSC ‘PTP’ Ukrenergochermet’. The second car is registered on the a private entrepreneur Hennady Dronov. ‘Nakipelo’ civic journalism edition has written about it.
MP, an advisor of MIA head Anton Geraschenko commented the car accident on his page in the social media immediately after happened: ‘Automobile ‘Lexus’, No.АХ 0032 ЕС, driven by a golden youth girl of 1997 year of born, going through a forbidden traffic signal, at a great speed crashed into the car Volkswagen ‘Touareg’ on the crossroads of Sumskaya and Bursatsky uzviz streets.
From the received impact the car “Lexus” belonging to her father, has thrown out on a sidewalk of Sumskaya street where at this moment there were dozen of pedestrians. As a result of the injuries six innocent people deceased. 5 pedestrians were hospitalized with wounds of varying severity. Doctors are fighting for their lives. The drivers of both cars stayed alive. They were taken for examination for the presence of alcohol or narcotic intoxication’, Geraschenko wrote.
According to his words ‘the police is carrying out all the complex of first-order investigative and operational actions’.
‘Videorecords from surveillance cameras are being seized, the eyewitnesses are being interviewed. During the investigation the the circumstances of obtaining a driver’s license by a ‘Lexus’ driver also will be checked. Car driver will be detained today in an order of art.208 of CCU for three days. Further the court will determine the measure of restraint for her at the time of the investigation. 5 to 10 years of imprisonment face to the detainee. She’ll also have to live her whole life with the understanding that her actions led to the death of six innocent Kharkiv dwellers. Only those who have lost their families will never return it. I offer my condolences to the families of the victims. It’s unbearably unfortunate that because of the criminal stupidity of the driver who violated the rules of the road, so many good people died’, Geraschenko added.
He also published a link on a video of a first minutes after the tragedy.
Later, the names of dead and wounded, because of car accident, were named. Preliminary information was promulgated by the PR-Department of the National police in Kharkiv region in Facebook.
There are the names of the identified people in the list. Meanwhile, the identities of two more women are being fixed, one of them is pregnant.
Killed:
- Evteev Alexander Sergeevich, 27 years old
- Kobiseva Nina Lvovna, 28 years old
- Umaeva Elena.
Hospitalized:
- Berchenko Elena Igorevna, 25 years old
- Neudachin Yuri Yuryevich, 24 years old;
- Nesterenko Oksana Vasilievna, 36 years old.
The head of the State Management of the National police in Kharkiv region Oleg Bekh has claimed that accident happened because of violation of Traffic Laws. Otherwise, the version of a terrorist act isn’t considered by law enforcements.
‘Lexus RX automobile, driving by girl of 20 years, moving on the forbidden traffic light, made a clash with Volkswagen Touareg automobile, driving by a man of 49, on the crossroads of Sumskaya street and Mechnikov lane. As a result of clash Lexus flew to the sidewalk of Sumskaya Street and hit 11 pedestrians, 5 of whom died on the spot (4 girls and a young guy), the rest were taken to medical institutions’, Bekh reported.
Later Anton Geraschenko in connection with the tragedy in Kharkiv offered to to review the amount of fines for the red light and violation of the rules of the intersection.
‘Volunteers have just shown a video, on which Lexus RX350 (No. АХ 0032 ЕС) had already moved through the red light in winter last year. We really didn’t know who was had been driving that day, this golden youth girl of 1997 year of born, become today the reason of death of 6 Kharkiv dwellers, or somebody from her relatives. But it’s clearly seen on this video that today’s tragedy was predetermined’, Geraschenko wrote in his Facebook.
‘Driver of Volkswagen Touareg Hennady Dronov trades in food and tobacco products, and also provides real estate for rent. Earlier a man had one more business, classified as retail from the trays, but in 2015 he closed it’, the ‘NewsRoom’ reported, referring on owns sources.
Also, mayor of Kharkiv Hennady Kernes commented the tragedy. He published a message in his Facebook.
‘Kharkiv City Council and personally me personally express our condolences to the families of the deceased. I promise you our help in organizing the funeral. To all those who suffered as a result of this accident, the city authorities will help you in the treatment’, Kernes wrote.
According to recent reports, the condition of two people injured in a car crash is currently extremely difficult.
‘Already now, by condoning the families of the deceased, Kharkiv dwellers are beginning to bring flowers to the scene of the incident. Doctors at night operated on three victims, a pregnant woman is among them. The condition of two people remains extremely difficult’, ‘112 Ukraine’ reports.
And an advisor of the MIA head Zoryan Shkiryak reported, that because of a catastrophe 5 people died, 6 more were wounded: ‘Literally, I just talked with the head of the State Policy of the National Police of the Kharkiv region Oleg Bekh, who keeps the matter under personal control. This case is taken on personal control by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Chairman of the National Police, the Prosecutor General. I can say that at present there are 11 victims: 5 dead, I emphasize, 5 dead, 2 people are in serious condition, one of whom is a pregnant woman who is permanently in a state of coma. Now doctors are fighting for her life’.
The video of the scene from the surveillance camera on Sumskaya street in Kharkiv was already published by ‘NewsRoom’.
Prepared on the basis of materials ‘112 Ukraine’