A police car clearing the way for Russian President Vladimir Putin's motorcade in Moscow crashed at high speed today, 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
Reuters
camera crew filmed the wreckage of the blue-and-white police car and a red Volkswagen Passat, bashed in on its driver's side. Other television pictures showed the driver being carried off in a body bag.
The witness said 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 red Volkswagen's driver was apparently dead on the spot," 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 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. "Putin was not hurt".
Before Mr Putin's motorcade drives through Moscow each day, traffic police close the streets to traffic. Police cars precede the motorcade escorting his black armoured Mercedes Pullman through the closed streets at high speed to clear his way.
They have in the past deliberately crashed into cars in their path as part of their security procedure, although this was the first time they were reported to have killed anybody.