SAMARA (Volga Region), May 23 (RIA Novosti) - A driver working for Russia's largest carmaker AvtoVAZ was shot dead, apparently by accident, by a sniper in Togliatti in the Volga region late on Thursday, local police reported.

"A 26-year-old man was killed by a single sniper shot while smoking on the balcony of his friend's apartment," a police source said. "According to investigators, the sniper fired from the roof of a neighboring building.

Investigators believe that the victim was mistaken for the owner of the flat - the director of a local retail company selling tires, who survived a murder attempt last year.

The sniper escaped from the scene and is still at large.

A criminal investigation is underway.