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Driver of taxi running into crowd in central Moscow says accident was unintended

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. The driver of a taxi that ran into a crowd in central Moscow on Saturday has claimed that the road accident was unintended, Moscow’s traffic organization center said in a Twitter post.

"According to the person responsible for the road accident, it was unintended," the post said.

A spokesperson for the Main Directorate of the city’s Interior Ministry told TASS that the driver had lost control of the vehicle.

"The preliminary cause of the road accident is failure to control the vehicle. The driver has been detained and delivered to the local police office. An inspection is underway," the source said.

An emergencies source told TASS the driver was sober, but fell asleep while driving.

"The taxi driver, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan who ran into pedestrians, was sober, he fell asleep while driving," the source said, adding that the driver is legally staying in Russia and has all necessary documents for being employed in the country.

As reported earlier eight people have been hurt in a road accident near Gostiny Dvor in central Moscow as a taxi cab drove into a crowd of pedestrians, seven of them are in a satisfactory condition, while one woman is in a moderately severe condition. All injured have been taken to hospitals in Moscow for diagnostic procedures and health services delivery. The preliminary cause of the road accident is failure to control the vehicle. The driver has been detained and delivered to the local police office. An inspection is underway.