3 Killed, 2 Injured in North Hollywood Pedestrian Accident

Three people were killed and two others were injured in a pedestrian crash on North Lankershim Boulevard at Chandler Boulevard in North Hollywood on November 10, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The Evening Pedestrian Crash on North Lankershim

Firefighters were sent to the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards at about 5:55 p.m. The Los Angeles Police Department said the vehicle was a white Toyota Sienna traveling southbound on Lankershim. Police said it hit a group of people, including food vendors, on the sidewalk by the Metro station. Paramedics found three women beyond medical help, and all three died at the scene.

Police said two other women, both in their 50s, were critically injured and taken to a hospital. One of them, Sylvia Figueroa, remains in critical condition, and family members said her injuries include a bleeding liver, broken ribs and severe head trauma. A fundraiser set up for Figueroa said she underwent surgery. Police said the driver, Ihor Demianenko, 61, of Valley Village, was treated for minor injuries. Police said he was talking when he was removed from the vehicle, and authorities said he was then taken to Dignity Health - Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

At least one of the three people killed was a street vendor. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified two of the women who died as Maria Peck, 73, and Teodora Villalobos, 57. Villalobos had sold street food near the intersection for more than 20 years, and her daughter described her as generous toward customers who could not afford a meal. Peck, a mother of five, also sold food in the area. According to a fundraising page set up for her family, Peck had sold food six days a week for over ten years, including holidays.

Family members said Figueroa had spent the evening with Villalobos and Peck before the crash and helped one of them sell food each night. Police described the third woman as between 40 and 60 years old, and she had not been publicly identified as of Thursday. Friends and family members of the vendors have gathered in North Hollywood to mourn them.

Residents left flowers and candles where the vendors had worked, and neighbors described them as kind people who often shared food with those who could not pay. Mourners have built an expanding memorial at the site of the crash. Commuters who passed the vendors each day said the women sold coffee, pupusas, hot dogs, sweets and sodas outside the station.

Where the Los Angeles Police Investigation Stands

The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. The police chief said investigators have video and will review it frame by frame. Police said Demianenko was taken into custody on a DUI suspicion. Police said officers determined he was impaired by drugs or alcohol.

A police spokeswoman said officers first arrested him for suspected DUI once he reached a hospital, and police said that arrest came at 9:10 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities said he was held then for suspected DUI and three counts of murder. Police said he was later booked on suspicion of homicide at the Valley Jail in Van Nuys at 1:39 a.m. Wednesday. Police said the booking covered three counts of murder and a felony DUI.

Charges are pending against Demianenko, and he could be charged with murder on Thursday. A court appearance date for him has not yet been announced. The medical examiner's office said Peck and Villalobos died of blunt force injuries.

A community relief fund has been set up to help the families of the three women who died and the families of those injured. The intersection was closed for hours and reopened Wednesday morning. Police asked anyone with information about the crash to contact the Valley Traffic Division.