New Details Emerge In Deadly LA Metro Station Crash That Killed 3 Women

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — A 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence after authorities say he plowed his minivan into a group of street vendors and pedestrians outside the busy North Hollywood Metro station Tuesday evening, killing three women and critically injuring two others.

Ihor Demianenko of Valley Village was booked Wednesday on suspicion of three counts of murder and was being held on $6.03 million bail, according to police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department inmate records.

The crash occurred shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards.

Demianenko was driving a white Toyota Sienna southbound on Lankershim Boulevard at an "unsafe speed" when the minivan veered to the right, left the roadway and struck a traffic light before hitting pedestrians and food vendors on the sidewalk, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The van came to rest under a food vendor’s tent.

The force of the collision threw victims in different directions, according to police.

Three women were pronounced dead at the scene. They wrestled between the ages of 40 and 60. Two other women in their 50s were rushed to hospitals in critical condition, according to police.

All five victims were Hispanic women, police said. Their names have not been released.

Two of the women killed were street vendors who had worked outside the station for years. One of the injured women was later reported to be in stable condition, KTLA reported.

Demianenko was trapped in the minivan following the crash and had to be extricated by firefighters. He was conscious and speaking with first responders but appeared to be in shock, police said.

He was taken to a hospital with minor injuries before being booked into the LAPD's Valley Jail in Van Nuys.

Police initially arrested Demianenko on suspicion of felony DUI before booking him on suspicion of three counts of murder, KTLA reported.

Authorities have not determined whether the crash was intentional.

LAPD Capt. Jonny Smith told reporters that preliminary video footage appeared to show the driver trying to avoid another vehicle before veering onto the sidewalk, according to KTLA.

"It looked like the car was avoiding another one when it went onto the sidewalk at a good rate of speed," Smith said.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators would carefully review video footage to determine what led to the crash.

"Our investigators have the video. They'll run it down in slow motion and take it frame-by-frame to determine what happened," McDonnell told reporters Tuesday night.

The crash devastated a community of street vendors who regularly sell food outside the busy transit station.

Russell Miller, who lives nearby, told KTLA that he had seen the vendors working outside the station every day for months.

"Everyone loved them," Miller told the station. "They were well-loved. These ladies were out here every day — they brightened your day, made you smile."

Miller said the absence of the vendors Wednesday morning was difficult to process.

Another witness told KTLA he saw the immediate aftermath of the crash.

"I saw everything kind of fly up and then drop down in an instant," he said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass expressed condolences to the victims' families Tuesday evening.

"I'm heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted," Bass wrote on social media. "My office is closely coordinating with city departments as authorities work to determine what caused this horrific incident."

The intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards was closed for hours following the crash but reopened Wednesday morning.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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City News Service contributed to this report.