A 61-year-old man was charged with murder and driving under the influence after he allegedly plowed his minivan into pedestrians, killing three street vendors on a sidewalk Tuesday night outside the North Hollywood Metro Station, authorities told NBC4 Investigates Friday.
Ihor Demianenko, 61, of Valley Village, was charged with three counts of murder, one count of driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and one count of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% causing injury.
Demianenko, who police said had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, was being held on $6 million bail as of Friday after he allegedly struck pedestrians at a busy intersection near Lankershim and Chandler boulevards during rush hour.
Investigators believe Demianenko was speeding and drove around another car before losing control.
NBC Los Angeles visited the suspect’s Valley Village apartment this week. A woman who identified herself as his wife through the apartment’s intercom hung up after learning that NBCLA wanted to speak with her.
Two of the street vendors pronounced dead at the scene were identified as 57-year-old Teodora Villalobos, a mother of three from El Salvador, and 74-year-old Maria Peck, a mother of five. The third woman’s identity has not been released.
Nearly everyone NBC Los Angeles spoke with near the crash site said they were devastated, describing the women as “sweet” and “friendly” and recalling how they often shared free food with those who couldn’t afford it.
Villalobos, a single mother, sold food at that intersection for 20 years, according to her two daughters, Karen and Asusena Melissa.
“We see the love, the support from everybody,” Karen said. “She was loved. She was loved here.”
The daughters said Villalobos “made the best food” and often helped homeless people in the area.
LaDuke Warwick was among those who told NBCLA that Villalobos gave him a hot dog when he didn’t have any money.
“This lady took me off the streets homeless and fed me,” Warwick said. “She said, ‘Come here and eat.’ I said, ‘Ma’am, you don’t know me from nowhere, why are you feeding me?’ She said, ‘Because you’re hungry.'”
Warwick recalled the heartwarming moments he shared with the victims and described them as “three angels.”
“How I’ll remember them are beautiful souls who uplifted a moment of my life, my soul, my spirit, uplifted,” he said.
LA City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, whose district includes North Hollywood, announced his office is teaming up with ICON CDC to raise money for the three women’s families and the street vendor community.
“No donation can undo this tragedy, but we can help ensure these families do not face the financial burden alone,” Nazarian said, adding that donations will provide “direct relief.”