A police car clearing the way for Russian President Vladimir Putin's motorcade crashed at high speed on Friday, apparently killing the civilian driver of a car in its path, an eyewitness said.
The Kremlin denied that the police car was part of the president's entourage. A media person camera crew filmed the wreckage of the blue-and-white police car and a red Volkswagen Passat, bashed in on its driver's side.
Andrei Kostolevsky, a student, said he had seen the accident. The police car, driving at high speed ahead of the presidential motorcade, had slammed into the car blocking a major road in central Moscow "The (Volkswagen) driver was apparently dead on the spot. He was unconscious and covered with blood," he said. He said two police officers had climbed out of the police car, "clearly in shock" but unhurt apart from cuts.
He said the rest of the presidential motorcade then passed by.
The Kremlin confirmed that an accident had taken place, but said the police car was not part of the Kremlin motorcade.
"We called the traffic police, and they said, yes, there was an accident, but this has nothing to do with the presidential motorcade," a Kremlin spokesman said.
Before Putin's motorcade drives through Moscow each day, traffic police close the streets to traffic. Police cars precede the motorcade escorting his black armored Mercedes Pullman through the closed streets at high speed to clear his way.
Bureau Report