The Three-Member Criminal Court of Appeals of Thessaloniki sentenced a 55-year-old truck driver of Bulgarian origin to 5 years imprisonment for the fatal traffic accident that killed a 29-year-old motorcyclist last September on Georgikis Scholis Avenue. According to the case file, the accident occurred when the truck, which was heading to a warehouse to unload, ran a red light and entered the road perpendicularly, colliding with the passing motorcycle driven by the 29-year-old. The 55-year-old driver was found guilty of dangerous driving, with the mitigating factor of his previous honest life being recognized.
Thessaloniki: What the 55-year-old claimed in his defense
The court’s decision keeps the convicted man out of prison, as it was decided that the appeal would have suspensive effect. The 55-year-old was held in temporary custody after his testimony to the investigator.
With the same decision, three people who had become defendants for the same incident were acquitted, including the warehouse owner, one of his employees, and a citizen (aged 66, 55, and 35 years respectively), who, according to the case file, were guiding the truck driver in the maneuvers he made to enter the main avenue located east of Thessaloniki.
In his defense, the Bulgarian driver denied the charges. “I passed on green, but the truck is big. Everyone else was there to help me pass the intersection. They told me they would help and that other trucks had passed through the same spot this way,” he stated, among other things.
