CABBIE DROVE 20 HOURS BEFORE HITTING CURB

Tired man, who slept only 2-3 hours, stepped on wrong pedal, injuring 7 people in Moscow

ATAXI driver who ploughed into a pavement here on the third day of the World Cup, injuring at least seven people, said in a video released by authorities yesterday that he had been working for 20 hours before the incident.

The unnamed man said he 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 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.

Closed-circuit television camera footage distributed on social media on Saturday 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 and drove a few metres before hitting a traffic sign and coming to a halt.

Two passers-by tried to confront the driver and attempted to force open his door. The driver jumped out and ran away. The clip ended with the crowd chasing him 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, 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 were 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,” a Moscow Health Department official was quoted as saying.

The RIA Novosti news agency cited a source as saying that two Mexicans and two citizens of Azerbaijan were hurt.

Police closed the street for about an hour before reopening it to traffic.

Security has been a top concern heading into the June 14 to July 15 tournament. At least 600,000 tourists are expected to visit Russia during the most watched event in the world.