In Irkutsk, a Gazelle drove into the oncoming lane, hit a concrete pole and caught fire, with two people inside. Witnesses and police managed to pull out the injured and put out the fire, after which both were taken to hospital. According to traffic police inspectors, with such damage there was almost no chance of survival, however the driver later fled the medical facility.
The driver of a Gazelle vehicle, traveling from Mariya Tsukanova Street toward the Ushakovsky Bridge interchange, lost control, crossed into the oncoming lane, and crashed into a concrete pole. There were 2 people in the vehicle. As a result of the traffic accident, the minibus caught fire.Fortunately for the victims, the moment of the crash was seen by random eyewitnesses. Passersby immediately rushed to the vehicle and pulled the driver out. His passenger was trapped by twisted metal.
Those around were extinguishing the Gazelle with fire extinguishers, while someone was carrying water in buckets from a standpipe. In the end, the injured man was able to be pulled out of the cab.
Police officers who arrived at the scene, using their own firefighting equipment, together with civilians, finally put out the fire. An ambulance took both men to the hospital.
According to traffic police inspectors, the extent of the vehicle’s damage would have left no chance of survival in another situation. However, both people in the vehicle not only survived, but one of them—the driver—later fled from the medical facility.
Based on materials from the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Irkutsk Region