The 56-year-old driver from Bulgaria was ordered to be detained pending trial, with the agreement of both the prosecutor and investigator, for the fatal traffic accident that occurred last Monday 18/08 on the Egnatia Highway between Xanthi and Komotini, near the Iasmos toll station. The driver was hospitalized at Sismanoglio Hospital in Komotini, where he was visited by the Xanthi prosecutor, who brought charges against him for manslaughter due to negligence, causing bodily harm through negligence, and dangerous driving.
Fatal Egnatia Highway crash: Bulgarian driver discharged and sent to prison
The Bulgarian driver was discharged on Saturday morning and brought before the Xanthi investigator to give his testimony before being sent to Komotini prison. It’s worth noting that the 56-year-old driver underwent toxicological tests to determine if he had consumed alcohol.
The toxicological test results are expected in the coming days, while an expert has been appointed to determine the speed at which the truck was traveling at the time of the accident.
Fatal Egnatia Highway crash: Shocking testimonies reveal victims “screamed ‘help, get us out, save us’ as they burned alive”
Shocking images from the horrific traffic accident that occurred on Monday afternoon, August 18 on the Egnatia Highway, in the lane towards Xanthi, just a few hundred meters before the Iasmos toll station in Rodopi. Two cars and a truck were involved in a violent collision. According to initial reports, the truck driver, a Bulgarian national, failed to brake in time and crashed at high speed into the stationary vehicles, which had stopped due to heavy traffic.
Read: How the fatal three-victim crash on Egnatia Highway happened: What eyewitnesses report (Video)
Due to the severity of the collision, the first car burst into flames, tragically resulting in the deaths of a couple, aged 59 and 57, as well as another man aged 61. From the burning vehicle, a 49-year-old woman managed to survive, almost miraculously.
An eyewitness describes to ANT1: «We could hear all three people pleading for us to get them out: “Get us out, get us out”. They were screaming “help, get us out, save us”. The people burned alive. They burned alive. We saw all three people with our own eyes, charred. We couldn’t get them out, they were trapped».
The burning car fell onto the one in front of it, where the pregnant daughter of the charred couple was located along with her children, aged 4 and 6, and her husband.
