A taxi driver who injured at least seven people after driving onto a Moscow footpath, said in a video released by authorities that he had been working for 20 hours solid before the incident. The unnamed man said he had slept for only two or three hours before the shift and confused the brake and the accelerator, leading to an "unexpected" loss of control, according to the video on the website of the local interior ministry. "I do not know how it happened," he said, adding that he had not been drinking and was "very sorry". The man, who authorities earlier identified as a 28-year-old national of the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, said he ran from the scene fearing he would be killed there, before being taken into custody by police. CCTV footage distributed on social media yesterday showed the yellow cab turning right as it tried to pass some standing traffic on a one-way street near Red Square. It accelerated as it reached the crowded pavement before hitting a traffic sign and coming to a sharp halt. Two passersby immediately tried to confront the driver, trying to force open his door. The driver eventually jumped out and began running away. The clip ended with the crowd chasing the man down a side street. An eyewitness account from the police station published on a Russian Telegram channel showed the driver sitting handcuffed on a bench and looking dazed. The incident occurred about 200m from Red Square with Moscow packed with foreign football fans snapping pictures of the Kremlin. Police said seven people had been injured but Russian news agencies quoted the city's health department as saying eight people were hurt. "Seven of them are in satisfactory condition and one woman is in moderate condition," an unidentified Moscow health department official was quoted as saying. The RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified source as saying that two Mexicans and two citizens of Azerbaijan were hurt. RIA quoted a health official as saying that three of those injured will be released from hospital in the coming days. Police closed the street for about an hour before reopening it to traffic. Security has been a top concern heading into the tournament with at least 600,000 foreign tourists expected to visit Russia.<doc-sep>MOSCOW—The suspect in a taxi crash near Red Square that injured two Mexican World Cup fans and six other pedestrians told interrogators that he fell asleep at the wheel, Moscow police said Sunday. City police released a video Sunday of an interrogation session with a man identified as the Kyrgyz taxi driver, in which he says he briefly dozed off and accidentally hit the gas. It was unclear whether the man spoke under duress. The man says he hadn’t slept in 20 hours and wasn’t drunk, and ran away after the accident because he was afraid that angry bystanders would kill him. He was later detained. The Moscow city traffic authority identified the driver as 28-year-old Chyngyz Anarbek, who is from Kyrgyzstan. Speaking to The Associated Press from the town of Muras Ordo in Kyrgyzstan, Anarbek's older brother said only had been working as a taxi driver for a month. He said his sibling was in "stress, shock, horror" after what happened. "Let people say what they want, but my brother is clean, not guilty. He was never and could never be a terrorist," Almazbek Anarbek said. The younger Anarbek won a bronze medal last year in the world championship of Pankration, an ancient sport combining skills of boxing and wrestling. Videos circulating on Russian social media and some news websites after the incident showed the taxi veering onto the sidewalk Saturday and striking pedestrians. The accident took place on Ilinka St., about 200 metres from Red Square and Moscow’s famous GUM shopping arcade, an area popular with tourists. Viktoria Geranovich, who works nearby and filmed the fleeing driver on her phone, described her shock at the crash. “I called the ambulance right away,” she said. “I was trembling. It is not a thing you see every day, when a taxi drives right into the crowd.” Moscow police would not comment on whether the crash would affect security measures for the World Cup, which is being held in 11 Russian cities over the next month. Among the security concerns has been the possible use of vehicles as weapons. A spokesperson for FIFA told The Associated Press that the World Cup organizers regretted what happened, but referred security questions to Moscow authorities because the crash took place outside stadiums or fan venues. The spokesperson, who was not authorized to be publicly named, said World Cup organizers were in regular contact with local authorities about security. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The Mexican Embassy told The Associated Press that the two injured female fans met with embassy representatives and were not hospitalized. The Mexican national soccer team plays against Germany on Sunday in Moscow. Global soccer fans in Moscow shared information about the crash but didn’t appear to let it dampen their enthusiasm. “It is pretty horrible that something like that has happened,” said Mexican supporter Julio Domingues. But he added “there are crazy people everywhere.” Fellow fan Fernando Ibarra said, “We hope our countrymen are OK! Big hug to the families too. Viva Mexico!”<doc-sep>She said "mostly girls" were knocked down, but people rushed to help and the ambulance arrived quickly. "Thank god everything went well. It's scary that this happened in the very centre."<doc-sep>
Eight people, including two visitors from Mexico, were injured Saturday when a taxi crashed into pedestrians on a sidewalk near Red Square in Moscow. Russian police said the driver in the crash has been detained. Preliminary information indicated the driver lost control of the vehicle. Video circulating on Russian social media and some news websites showed the taxi approaching a stopped line of cars, then veering onto the sidewalk and striking pedestrians. It then hit a traffic sign and bystanders tried to wrestle the driver out of the taxi, but he broke their grip and ran away. It was not clear how he was finally detained. The source of the video wasn’t specified, but it appeared to be a handheld recording of footage from a video monitor. Russia is hosting the World Cup and the capital’s streets have been crowded with foreign visitors. The accident took place on Ilinka Street, about 650 feet from Red Square and Moscow’s famous GUM shopping arcade, an area popular with tourists. The city health department said seven of the injured were in satisfactory condition and one was in more serious condition. Details of their injuries were not available. The agency that monitors Moscow’s traffic safety said the driver is a citizen of the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan. The driver told police that the crash was not intentional. Mexico’s embassy in Moscow said two of its citizens were among the injured. Mexico is to play against Germany on Sunday in Moscow, one of 11 host cities for the tournament. Authorities originally reported that eight people were injured, then revised the number to seven, before raising the toll back to eight. UPDATES: 4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the incident. Noon: This article was updated with additional information about the victims and a revised injury count. 10:50 a.m.: This article was updated with information about the driver and a revised injury count. This article was originally published at 10:15 a.m.