"An end to years of impunity": Kravchenko announced suspicions in 178 cases of serious traffic accidents
Kyiv • UNN
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced the declaration of suspicions in 178 criminal proceedings regarding serious traffic accidents, the investigation of which lasted more than 3-5 years. As a result of these accidents, 69 people died, including 3 children, and 99 suffered serious injuries, including 9 children.
After an audit of 178 criminal proceedings concerning road accidents with severe consequences, the investigation of which lasted more than 3-5 years, suspicions were announced in all cases. This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, according to UNN.
Details
Kravchenko said that last month he ordered an audit of all criminal proceedings related to serious road accidents where the investigation lasted more than 3-5 years.
The picture turned out to be disappointing: 178 cases were virtually stalled. In these accidents, 69 people died, including 3 children. Another 99 people suffered serious injuries, including 9 children.
According to him, over the past week, suspicions have been announced in all 178 cases:
• 159 suspicions to drivers under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of road safety rules;
• 18 suspicions to drivers under the influence of alcohol — Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;
• 1 suspicion under Article 287 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — putting technically faulty vehicles into operation;
• 1 suspicion under Article 288 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of rules related to ensuring road safety.
Kravchenko noted that the main causes of fatal road accidents are violations of traffic rules and driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Prosecutor General also spoke about a number of road accidents that ended in tragedies:
- A regular pedestrian crossing. A woman was crossing the road where she should have been safe. The SUV driver exceeded the speed limit and hit her, killing her.
- Head-on collision due to carelessness. The driver of an Audi A6 drove into the oncoming lane. Two young girls, passengers in another car, suffered serious injuries that threatened their lives.
- Alcohol behind the wheel. The truck driver got behind the wheel while heavily intoxicated, lost control, and collided with a car. Two adults died, and a small child was orphaned.
- Negligence of officials. Officials of the Sumy regional road service reported on the installation of signs on a destroyed bridge that was not properly marked. A car with two servicemen plunged into the river — both died.
- Accident with a shuttle bus. The driver exceeded the speed limit, lost control, and crashed into a guardrail. Passengers — ordinary people returning from work — suffered serious injuries.
- Cyclist on the roadside. A drunk car driver drove off the road and hit a boy who was returning home from training. The boy died on the spot.
"These cases remained for years without suspects, trials, and verdicts. This will no longer happen," the Prosecutor General assured.
Now, according to him, all 178 proceedings are under the control of the Office of the Prosecutor General and the heads of regional prosecutor's offices.
Our duty is to restore justice for every family that has lost loved ones in a road accident. And justice means one thing: punishment for the guilty and protection for the victims, unfortunately in many cases, posthumously
Addition
According to the patrol police, from January to August, 1968 people died in Ukraine as a result of road accidents, including 119 children, and 20,463 people were injured. Most often, people died in road accidents due to speeding (1062 people). The second reason, in terms of the number of deaths, is driving into the oncoming lane, not related to overtaking (129 people). In third place in this sad statistic is the violation of rules when changing direction of movement, not related to lane changes (101 people). According to this year's statistics, the largest number of road accidents occur between 4 PM and 7 PM, and the most dangerous day of the week is Friday.