Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Calls For ‘Objective’ Probe Into Deadly Traffic Accident In Kharkiv

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Kharkiv police have launched a criminal case involving driving-safety violations and a 20-year-old female suspect has been arrested.

Ukrainian parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy has called on law enforcement authorities to “immediately and objectively investigate” a deadly traffic accident in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Parubiy on October 19 urged police to “bring the person responsible…to justice,” a day after a woman reported to be the stepdaughter of a wealthy businessman plowed the car she was driving into a crowd of pedestrians, killing six people.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that the suspect was arrested.

Five people, including a pregnant woman, remain hospitalized with severe injuries, Avakov wrote on Facebook.

Kharkiv regional police spokeswoman Olena Barannyk identified the suspect as 20-year-old Olena Zaytseva, adding that a criminal investigation into possible driving-safety violations was launched.

According to Barannyk, Zaytseva drove her Lexus SUV into the pedestrians after it collided at high speed with another car, whose driver is being questioned as a witness in the case. The identity of that driver was not disclosed.

Local media reports say Zaytseva is a stepdaughter of a successful Kharkiv businessman, Vasyl Zaytsev, and the Lexus was registered to him.

Relatives of wealthy people and officials in Ukraine, Russia, and other former Soviet republics often avoid punishment for misdeeds or crimes partly due to widespread corruption.