Friday, October 20, 2017
'Smirking' oligarch's daughter who killed five in car horror 'was racing another driver at almost double speed limit'
An oligarch's daughter who killed five people and injured a dozen more in a horror car incident had allegedly been racing another driver.
Alyona Zaitseva, a 20-year-old millionaire's daughter "jumped a red light and rammed into a crowd" at a pedestrian crossing, say police.
A new video suggests she could have been racing another car moments before colliding with a vehicle and ramming into helpless pedestrians waiting at a crossing in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
The CCTV shows two cars side by side travelling down a busy road with lots of traffic.
From the footage, it looks like the cars are moving faster than the rest of the vehicles on the street.
The video also appears to capture the moment two cars collide at a bend.
It was also revealed today that Zaitseva had been fined four times previously for breaking the speed limit.
There was carnage of the streets after her speeding Lexus struck a VW Touareg before completely overturning and landing on its wheels and then crashing into a group waiting to cross the road.
Initial reports claimed there had been six fatalities but now reports say five people were killed.
A local MP claimed she had been travelling at more than 60 mph in her Lexus in an area with a maximum limit of 35 mph, and revealed she had ten previous motoring fines, including four for speeding, two this year.
Her hair tied in a bun, she appeared to smirk as she argued with her police guard in footage also newly released.
She has been detained for three days as a criminal investigation is underway which could see her jailed for up to ten years.
Three out of six seriously injured victims are in comas, said doctors.
Among the dead are a mother and daughter Alla Sokol, 46, and Anastasiya Sokol, 19, who will be buried tomorrow.
Killed in the crash was Alexander Evteev, 27, from Kharkiv, husband of injured Oksana, 27.
She is in a "grave" condition as is her sister Diana, 20.
Both underwent major surgery overnight for head, chest and abdominal injuries.
A woman who died was named as Nina Kobiseva, 28, from Tishenovka village in Kharkiv region, and another fatality was named as Elena Usmanova.
Yury Neudachin, 29, from Kharkiv, was in a "grave condition", and Oksana Nesterenko, 36, was also in intensive care.
Anna Komar, 25, from Kremenchug, was in a stable condition.
Irina Lodyanaya, deputy doctor in chief of Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital, said pregnant Ms Vlasenko is "in a grave but stable condition.
"There is no threat to the baby.
"The baby is stable, the mother is in medical coma but it won't hurt her baby. We need to keep watching."
Pregnant Zhanna Vlasenko, 30, has suffered "serious" head injuries and is in a "hard but stable" condition. Her baby is expected to survive, said doctors.
Fears were expressed that the heiress will escape justice because of her father's wealth and influence in Ukraine, where the court system in notoriously corrupt.
So far Zaitseva has refused to give evidence on the crash, citing the 63rd article of the Ukrainian constitution, permitting her not to incriminate herself, reported Interfax Ukraine.
Yesterday, footage was released of the terrifying moment the heiress's car rammed into helpless pedestrians.
Frightening footage shows the car ploughing into people on the pavement before the vehicle topples over onto its side.
Shocked onlookers walking on the other side of the road stare in horror as the incident unfolds, with the car appearing to be travelling at speed.
The horrific crash happened in the dark, as shown by the CCTV footage.
The aftermath was described as "like a war zone" with dead and injured strewn across the pavement.
Alyona's armed bodyguards drove up in two jeeps immediately after the crash and protected her from a furious crowd who witnessed the appalling crash.
The dead included a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
"It's like a war zone," said one onlooker seeking to care for the injured.
Zaitseva, 20, daughter of local energy company multi-millionaire Vasily Zaitsev, was uninjured.
A shocking video of the aftermath of the crash showed bodies strewn on the pavement.
Anna, a flower seller who witnessed the horror, said: "I saw the moment of the crash, and how the car was spinning.
"My head is still aching, it was such a horror.
"The car did not drive over the people, it just smashed into them."
Another witness Alexandra said: "I saw the bodies, it was so scary.
"One hit and five lives finished. They were just lying there."
Vladimir, who received a light head injury after being knocked unconscious, said: "When I came round I saw all those people who were less lucky than me.
"I have a scratch and concussion.
"I saw something flying right into my face. Next moment - my friend helps me to stand up, a piece of metal hit me into the face."
Police said Zaitseva was found not to have been drinking before the crash.
Local bloggers expressed fears that because of her powerful father she will be exonerated despite witnesses saying she sped through the red light.
Energy tycoon Vasily Zaitsev did not mention the victims in his only comment on the crash caused by what eye witnesses saw as his daughter's reckless driving.
He also sought to pin blame on the VW Touareg that Zaitseva hit before her car careered into people waiting at a pedestrian crossing, even though another new video shows the driver of this car acting correctly after moving forward on a green light at a junction.
The driver of the Touareg, Gennady Dronov, 49, was on a green light when the vehicles collided, according to witnesses.
"It is a tragedy for our family," he said.
"She had been driving for two years and never had any violations" - a claim contradicted by a local MP who is also an Interior Ministry advisor.
Not mentioning those killed or wounded, he said: "My child has not eaten for 24 hours.
"They did not let us see her, she was locked in jail immediately."
"She was hit, do you understand? Her car was completely destroyed. The car was moving after the hit."
Local MP and advisor to the Ukrainian Internior Ministry, Anton Gerashchenko, insisted the driver of the other car had acted correctly.
And he revealed: "During last two years the Lexus driver has been caught eight times by Kharkiv traffic patrol for violating traffic rules."
This involved speeding, jumping red lights, and violating parking rules, he said.
But the maximum she was fined for these transgressions was £14.
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