Russian defense minister's son to come off clear after running over elderly lady

Alexander Ivanov (28) was driving a Volkswagen Bora and ran over a 68-year-old woman, killing her instantly

A large scandal occurred in Moscow because of a car accident, which took place in Russia's capital on Monday evening. A driver of a foreign car ran over an elderly lady at large speed, killing her instantly. Almost all high-ranking officials from the Moscow police administration arrived to the site of the accident. The driver's name is Alexander Ivanov, elder son of the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Ivanov.

Spokespeople for Moscow's law-enforcement authorities have already confirmed the information, RIA Novosti reports. ”Alexander Ivanov (28) was driving a Volkswagen Bora and ran over a 68-year-old woman, Svetlana Beridze, in the zone of a regulated pedestrian crossing,” a spokesman for the Moscow police department said.

For the time being, there is no precise information about details of the accident. The elderly woman was reportedly crossing the road on the green light, whereas information from other sources says that the woman was running across the busy road and was hit by Alexander Ivanov's Volkswagen. The woman died instantly from severe injuries.

A criminal case has been filed against the son of the Russian defense minister. If the young man's guilt is proved, the charges might carry the penalty of up to five years in prison.

Sergei Ivanov, the Russian Defense Minister, is the father of two sons. Forbes magazine wrote about his 24-year-old son, Sergei, in March. The magazine published an article, in which it was said that 24-year-old Sergei Ivanov, a son of Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, had been appointed the vice president of GazpromBank. Having graduated from one of the most prestigious universities of Moscow, the young man started his career in state-owned companies of Russia.

Russian experts say that the defense minister's other son, who ran over and killed an elderly woman in Moscow, will most likely come off clear. Lawyers say that the case will not even reach the court, and the woman will be eventually found guilty of the accident.

”The unlucky woman will most likely be found guilty of the accident,” lawyer Viktor Travin says. “Statistics says that pedestrians are guilty of causing similar car accidents in 60 percent of cases. Even if the Office of the Public Prosecutor decides to play an honest game, they will undoubtedly find a variety of legal and illegal ways to take the young man away from such serious responsibility. It is not ruled out that the file will be closed at the reconciliation of the sides. It means that the defense minister's son will pay a certain amount of money to the relatives of the killed woman and they will withdraw the application,” the lawyer added.

Nina Beridze, the daughter of Svetlana Beridze, who was killed in the road accident, saw everything from a window of her apartment, the Izvestia newspaper wrote. “It all happened in front of my very eyes. My mother was babysitting at my place. When I returned home from work, my mother went home too.” I was watching her crossing the road from a window. There were no cars on the road, she was about to step on the pavement, when that car appeared. The car was racing at the speed of more than 100 km/h. The car hit my mother like a sand sack, she fell down on the road about 20 meters far from the car. I called the ambulance immediately and ran downstairs. She died several minutes afterwards. The driver, who, as it turned out later, was the son of the defense minister, was standing aside all the time, I hardly talked to him. He only told me in the very beginning: “I am sorry, I did not see her,” the daughter of the killed old lady said.

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