Investigators suspect that a police officer who caused a car accident that killed a mother and child earlier this week in St. Petersburg may be involved in the car-jacking business.
On Sunday evening, off-duty police lieutenant Nikolai Miroshkin drove onto a sidewalk in a Honda Accord and hit the two pedestrians, who died at the scene. He then crashed into an Opel, injuring the driver and a female passenger, both of whom received serious injuries.
Miroshkin was fired from the police force following the accident and is awaiting trial on charges of vehicular manslaughter in a detainment center.
Investigators found a second Honda Accord with the same license plate number as the one driven by Miroshkin in the accident, a prosecutor said at a hearing Friday, Interfax reported. An inquiry will be opened to find out whether Miroshkin was involved in stealing cars, the prosecutor said.
