HORRIFIC car crash in St. Petersburg: Two killed including American citizen (VIDEO)

The blood-chilling moment when a driver mowed down pedestrians in central St. Petersburg, killing two people, was caught on CCTV. The driver was under the influence of nitrous oxide and lost consciousness, local media reports.

The horrifying crash occurred at Nevskiy Avenue overnight, when a BMW X6 traveling at high speed skimmed a couple of vehicles before mounting the sidewalk. The car then hit a group of pedestrians, sending them flying into the air. The heart-stopping moment of the crash was caught by a security camera.

Warning: Disturbing video below.

The car then drove on the sidewalk, destroying the open doors of cafes and shops before returning to the road and finally coming to a stop. Several lucky pedestrians managed to dodge the speeding automobile. Two people – a US citizen and a tourist from Moscow – were killed on the spot.

The crash occurred quite late in the evening and there were few people in the vicinity, which is usually a busy thoroughfare. If the incident had happened an hour earlier, it may have claimed dozens of lives.

The driver was apprehended by police at the scene, and was identified by media as 30-year-old Murad K. He was under the influence of nitrous oxide – a chemical compound used as an anesthetic and commonly known as ‘laughing gas.’ He openly admitted this fact to medics, local media reported. Consumption of the gas as a sort of “legal drug” has been rampant in nightclubs lately, and it’s openly sold in air balloons.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into the crash over the killing of two or more persons while driving under influence. While obtaining and consuming the gas might be a legal gray area, its use results in heavy oxygen starvation and can even induce a coma or cause death. Using ‘laughing gas’ for recreational purposes is not the brightest idea in itself, let alone driving after hitting a balloon.

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