Burgas Appeals Court Upholds Detention of Driver Accused in Trakia Highway Crash.
The Burgas Appeals Court upheld the remand in custody of the driver charged in the serious crash on the Trakia Highway that killed two 9-year-old children and a man. The driver expressed regret and condolences but continues to claim the cause was a burst tire.
Two people were also injured in the crash near the Yambol village of Zimnitsa – the coach of the children who died and his wife, who was admitted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The defendant appealed the remand measure imposed on him by the Yambol District Court, the press office of the Burgas Court of Appeal said. His appeal was heard on July 2 at 14:00. According to supervising prosecutor Zhivko Iliev, the court found that the evidence collected supports a reasonable assumption that the defendant committed the act, and that there is a risk he could abscond or commit another offence.
Before the start of the hearing, the driver again said he regretted what had happened and expressed condolences to the relatives of those who died. He again stated that, in his view, the cause of the crash was a blown tire. I was relying on the guardrail to stop me, he said, urging other truck drivers not to rely on guardrails, especially in the summer, because tires could burst.
The crash happened on June 24 on the Trakia motorway. According to the investigation, the truck driver lost control, crossed the central guardrail and entered the oncoming lane, where he hit a car carrying five people and travelling toward Burgas. The car’s driver and two 9-year-old children died at the scene. The other two passengers were taken to hospital with serious injuries – a 49-year-old woman and her husband, a 46-year-old coach at the Slavia football club academy. Coach Ivan Terziyski and his wife were injured in the crash, with his wife admitted to hospital in life-threatening condition.
The defendant’s lawyer, Gardeva, said that, according to the defence, the only cause of the crash was a blown tire, as a result of which the truck became uncontrollable. Regarding the photos circulated publicly, which allegedly show the driver holding a phone and a cup before the crash, Gardeva said she could not comment on them until they are admitted to the case as evidence.