Ukrainiana

Deadly Déjà Vu: 18-Year Old DUI Kills 1, Wounds 2

On Jan. 12, an 18-year old Odesite crashed his Toyota Prado into a Daewoo Lanos moving on the opposite lane, killing one person and wounding two others in an accident that involved a total of eleven vehicles.

This brings to mind the case of Serhiy Kalynovsky, a high-profile 21-year old whose reckless driving killed last year his girlfriend and another driver, father of two young children.

Both stories share one thing: abusive language and disorderly conduct on the part of the perpetrator at the time the police arrived. A report in Segodnya states that it took the paramedics 40 minutes to “rush” to the scene. And by the time the firefighters came, an hour had already passed.

When the police arrived, the 18-year old showered them with profanity and demanded his cell phone, saying his dad would fix things quickly. On his way to the precinct, the bad boy was escorted by a trail of luxury cars.

According to Dmytro Fuchedzhy, deputy chief of Odesa oblast police, the subject was DUI. Now hear this: The young man reportedly attends law school. He is also the son of a wealthy businessman who holds a seat in the local assembly under the wing of the Party of Pensioners. (Just how many Ukrainian pensioners enjoy this kind of lifestyle?)

The episode raised a firestorm of indignation at Ukrainian forums, with many netizens gloomily expecting the Odesa offender to get away with murder, Kalynovsky-style. (A few weeks after the accident, Serhiy Kalynovsky escaped from custody, which didn’t seem particularly tight, and left the country. He is now wanted by Interpol.)

So, the burning questions would be as follows: Are those NUNS-sponsored ambulances coming on schedule or not? Will the killer kids get jailed or will they remain untouchable? A single ambulance for Chernovetsky doesn’t get this country too far unless a holistic course of treatment will follow.

Approximately 78,000 Ukrainians were injured in car accidents last year. Some 9,500 people died, up from the previous year's 7,600.

IF YOU DRIVE, DO NOT DRINK!

Source:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2008/1/18/69980.htm
http://www.autocentre.ua/content/view/10609/2/
http://blog.kievukraine.info/2007/06/another-litmus-test.html
http://www.segodnya.ua/news/816229.html#comments4 http://www.obkom.net.ua/news/2008-01-18/1515.shtml
http://insurhouse.com/ru/layout/set/print/press_centr/pressa_o_nas/de_vihid_iz_dorozhn_o_avarijnogo_kuta
http://www.ictv.ua/ukr/news_ukraine.php?news_id=107651