The trial of five defendants in the road accident case has begun
The trial of a truck driver, owner of a Piła transport company, his two employees and an employee of a diagnostic station accused in the case of a road accident near Konotop began in the District Court in Koszalin on Tuesday. One person died and 16 were injured.
Three of the accused appeared at the trial, although their presence was not mandatory. All of them are standing trial from freedom.
The prosecutor of the District Prosecutor's Office in Drawsko Pomorskie, Sławomir Domagała, read out the charges from the indictment. He accused 26-year-old Marcin B., who was a truck driver, of causing a disaster in land traffic. According to the prosecutor's office, he did not adjust his driving to the weather conditions and speed limit signs, he was driving too fast, and on top of that, he was driving a faulty vehicle. The man was sober at the time of the incident.
The owner of a transport company from Piła, 30-year-old Adam K., who owned the vehicle, and two of its employees, Roman K. and 27-year-old Maksymilian F., are facing charges of deliberately causing a real risk of a disaster in land traffic. According to the investigation, they actually managed the transport. The prosecutor accused the three of allowing a truck with a faulty semi-trailer to be driven, which had a faulty brake system, damaged tires, no valid technical inspections, and no proper license plate. The plate was supposed to be swapped. According to prosecutor Domagała, the accused acted together and in agreement.
The fifth defendant in the prosecution is a diagnostic station employee, Jan S. "When conducting technical inspections of the vehicle, he confirmed untruths in the documents," said prosecutor Domagała. Jan S. did not verify the consistency of the VIN number with the registration number of the semi-trailer, stating that it was operational and could be approved for traffic.
Marcin B., Adam K. and Maksymilian F. refused to provide explanations. They did not admit to the acts they were charged with, with Marcin B. "to the accusation constructed in this way".
Judge Sylwia Dorau-Cichoń, who presided over the hearing, read out the explanations given by the accused during the preparatory proceedings.
Marcin B., a social activist, OSP firefighter, professional driver with three years of experience, said in the prosecutor's office that he "can't get over what happened", he thinks about this accident every day. On September 13, 2023, he was on a trip from Piła to Łobez, he was already returning, driving downhill, when a collision occurred around a bend. "I don't know if the semi-trailer crossed the roadway. There was a camera in the truck, but it was probably turned off. Before leaving, I didn't check, I didn't look at the tires. I was convinced that I was driving a functional vehicle" - Judge Cichoń-Dorau read the accused's explanations from the case files.
Marcin B. admitted during the investigation that he had been fined for speeding. He could not clearly indicate who managed the transport in the company, whether it was its owner or Roman K., an employee there. According to him, both did it. The accused Marcin B. remained in temporary custody until mid-February 2024.
Adam K. explained during the investigation that he did not agree with the findings that the semi-trailer was technically faulty. He always had technical inspections done in the same place. He bought the semi-trailer with plates from a bailiff, from an auctioned transport company. Roman K. went to the scene of the accident. "I know that the speed limit was exceeded on the tachograph. After the accident, Roman K., with my consent, sold the semi-trailer. I do not know how it happened that its registration numbers were later found at my company," Adam K. said during the preparatory proceedings.
During the investigation, he claimed that Roman K. was employed by him as an office worker, gave him tips on how to run the company, and helped him run the business. At the hearing, in response to questions from the defense attorney and the judge, he indicated that he ran the company alone, Roman K. did not help him, and was on sick leave between June and October 2023.
Before the opening of the trial, Judge Dorau-Cichoń did not grant the first motion of the defense of the accused diagnostician Jan S. to exclude his aspect of the case from separate proceedings. As for the second motion to conditionally discontinue the case against Jan S. for two years and to order him to pay a monetary benefit of PLN 5,000, the judge did not rule out considering it at the next hearing date, on May 22. The public prosecutor agreed to such a decision, taking into account the low harmfulness of the alleged act. Some of the defense attorneys signaled their objections in this matter.
A land traffic disaster occurred on September 13, 2023 after 4 p.m. on provincial road No. 175 near the town of Konotop (West Pomeranian Voivodeship). A truck collided with a PKS regular bus , in which young people were returning from school in Kalisz Pomorski to their homes in Drawsko Pomorskie.
17 people were injured in the bus, including the driver, who was most seriously injured. He was transported by LPR helicopter to a clinical hospital in Szczecin, where, despite doctors' efforts to save his life, he died on September 14, 2023. The passengers suffered moderate and minor injuries, including: bruises, concussions and fractures. The truck driver did not suffer any injuries. The first at the scene of the disaster were Polish, American and Czech soldiers, who were leaving a nearby training ground at the time. They provided first aid.
Kurier Szczecinski
