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NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES () — The man who crashed into several pedestrians right outside the Metro station in North Hollywood, killing three women and hurting two others, has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police confirmed Wednesday.
The deadly crash happened just before 6 p.m. Tuesday near the station on North Lankershim Boulevard near Chandler Boulevard.
Three people are dead and at least three others were critically injured after a vehicle crashed into several pedestrians in North Hollywood.
The driver of a white minivan, identified as 61-year-old Ihor Demianenko, was going southbound on Lankershim at an “unsafe speed” when he veered off the road and hit several pedestrians and food vendors on the sidewalk, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The LAPD said Demianenko was trapped in the car and had to be extricated. He was hospitalized with minor injuries and later arrested on felony DUI. He is also facing three counts of murder and is being held on more than $6 million bail.
Additional details about what exactly led up to the crash were not available, but three women were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names have not been released, but the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed they were 40, 53 and 69 years old.
Two other people who were hit, women between 50-55 years old, were hospitalized in critical condition.
Beloved street vendors among victims
The incident unfolded during a busy rush hour, when some street vendors set up shop near the entrance and exit of the station.
Witnesses told Eyewitness News that at least 2 of the deceased victims were food vendors that had operated outside that Metro station for years.
Family identified one of the victims as 73-year-old Maria Peck.
One of the victims of the deadly North Hollywood crash was identified by family as 73-year-old Maria Peck.
The medical examiner’s office said 57-year-old Tedora Villalobos also lost her life.
A North Hollywood resident spoke to Eyewitness News about the third victim at the scene.
“That is Doris. The woman that ran the cart,” Jeff Wilson said as he held up a picture of the woman at her hot dog vending stand.
People who frequent the area were heartbroken by the news, saying that while they may not have known the women personally, they were familiar with their smiling faces that they saw every day.
“Everybody knows them… they just sit there, and everything is right there. They display everything and everybody just comes and buys stuff from them and talk to them… They’re the nicest ladies ever,” one man said.
The women are being described as community fixtures, with many said that even if you didn’t have money for food, they’d serve you anyway.
New details are emerging following a deadly crash at the North Hollywood Metro station. The driver has been arrested after three women were killed, some of them identified as beloved street vendors.
Several commuters who stopped by a growing memorial at the scene Wednesday shared just how heartbroken they were by the loss.
“The fact that they’re no longer here with us is very sad, you know,” said Joseph Portillo. “I see them every day. Now I will never see this lady. Imagine their family, imagine their kids, how they’re feeling now…. It’s devastating, it’s just super devastating.”
In the field of debris following the crash Tuesday, Noe Orozco arrived to find one of his colleagues, a beloved food vendor, dead on the sidewalk with no explanation. With tears in his eyes, he told Eyewitness News that he actually worked with them, dropping them off every morning and picking them up. He said he had just arrived to pick them up as usual when he saw the scene.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the victims’ families with financial hardships.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the deadly crash continues.
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