Driver Arrested After Crash Kills Three Near North Hollywood Station

Three women were killed and two other people were injured when a white SUV struck pedestrians and street vendors near the North Hollywood Metro station shortly before 6 p.m. on November 10. The crash occurred on North Lankershim Boulevard near Chandler Boulevard, as the SUV traveled southbound. The women were 40, 53 and 69; their identities have not been released. At least two of the victims were food vendors who worked near the station.

Police identified the driver as 61-year-old Ihor Demianenko and arrested him on suspicion of felony driving under the influence. He was pulled from the badly damaged vehicle, conscious but appearing to be in shock, and was hospitalized in critical condition. He remains detained at a police facility in Van Nuys, facing bail set at $6.03 million. The two injured people remained hospitalized the following day.

Witness Gian Barbarona said the vehicle passed close enough for him to feel air brush his shoulder. Noe Orozco, a colleague of one of the vendors, said he had arrived to pick them up and found the person dead on the sidewalk.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators were reviewing video frame by frame to establish what happened. Mayor Karen Bass said city departments were coordinating with first responders and expressed condolences to the victims’ families. The investigation is ongoing.