Car Crash Leaves 6 Dead in Ukraine, Driver Is a 20-Year-Old Heiress

Car Crash Leaves 6 Dead in Ukraine, Driver Is a 20-Year-Old Heiress
Stock photo of police tape. (Carl Ballou/Shutterstock)
Jack Phillips
10/19/2017
Updated:
10/20/2017

A major car crash in Ukraine killed at least six people after a 20-year-old heiress of a local energy company drove a car into a group of pedestrians.

The heiress, Alyona Zaitseva, jumped a red light while she was driving her Lexus in the city of Kharkiv. She hit people waiting on the pavement before the car flipped on its side, the Daily Mail reported.

Her bodyguards then drove up in two Jeeps after the crash and protected the woman from a crowd who amassed nearby.

Those killed included a 15-year-old girl. A woman seven months pregnant was also seriously injured.

One passerby said, “It’s like a war zone,” describing the crash scene.

Zaitseva is the daughter of multi-millionaire Vasily Zaitsev, she was not injured.

The driver of the other vehicle was identified as Gennady Dronov, 49, and he was driving through the intersection during a green light. Zaitseva’s vehicle reportedly crashed into his, according to The Sun newspaper.

Elena Berchenko, 25, Yury Neudachin, 24, and Oksana Nesterenko, 36, were named as those who were killed, the Mail reported.

Zaitseva could face as many as ten years in prison if she’s convicted, The Sun reported.

Police believe that she was not drinking.

A statement from the Ukraine Interior Ministry said that a driver has been detained and is being investigated over traffic safety violations, RFE/RL reported.

That suggests that the crash was not terror-related. Vans, cars, trucks, and other motor vehicles have been used in terrorist attacks across Europe.

(Google Maps)
(Google Maps)

Some local bloggers, according to UK media reports, expressed worry that Zaitseva will be exonerated in the crash due to the influence of her powerful father.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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