Oligarch's daughter Alyona Zaitseva detained after 4x4 ploughs into pedestrians and kills six
Black Lexus mowed into pedestrians in the Ukranian city of Kharkiv before flipping onto its side and leaving at least five people dead
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Russian oligarch’s daughter has been detained in Ukraine after allegedly killing several pedestrians by driving a 4x4 vehicle through a red light and mounting the pavement.
The black Lexus mowed into pedestrians in the Ukranian city of Kharkiv on Wednesday evening before flipping onto its side and leaving at least five people dead.
A teenage girl is among those who died and a heavily pregnant woman is currently in an induced coma fighting for her life in hospital.
Gruelling photos of the consequences of the crash show the mangled car surrounded by bodies scattered across the pavement and injured people.
The 20-year-old girl is said to have been driving the vehicle at the time of the collision.
“Today there was a terrible tragedy in Kharkiv, as a result of the accident six people were killed and two more are in a serious condition,” Yulia Svitlichna, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Police said the driver, who was born in 1997, has been detained.
While she has not been officially named the Ukranian press have identified her as Elena Zaitseva – the daughter of energy company multimillionaire Vasily Zaitsev.
Mr Zaitsev said he owned the car involved in the incident and his daughter was currently being kept for questioning.
"There is great grief in our family. She has been driving for two years and she's never had any violations. The girl was sober, she was traveling with her friend," Mr Zaitsev told local news site Kharkiv Today.
"We still have not been given a chance to talk, they immediately detained her in jail," he said.
He also said it not clear what had triggered the crash and people should not speculate or make judgements on social media.
Ms Zaitseva, the daughter of a local property and oil mogul, was reportedly detained at the scene and held for three days by authorities.
Some news outlets said up to six were left dead, including a 15-year-old girl, with several more injured. Three of the dead were named as Elena Berchenko, 25, Yury Neudachin, 24, Oksana Nesterenko, 36.
Ms Zaitseva herself was not injured in the collision which is not thought to be terror-related.
A statement from the Interior Ministry said a driver has been detained and is being investigated for traffic safety violations.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments