This past weekend, Latvia was shaken by a tragedy — in the Madona region, in the municipality of Prauliena, cars BMW and Toyota collided on the road Kraslava–Preili–Madona, resulting in the deaths of all three people involved in the accident.
A criminal process has been initiated regarding the incident, and the role of the eyewitnesses will also be assessed — their actions or, on the contrary, inaction at the scene, reports the program Degpunktā (TV3).
Judging by the footage taken by the eyewitness and his conversation in the background, it can be understood that the person with the phone was the first to arrive at the scene of the collision shortly after the accident.
When the operator finally decided to call emergency services, a large number of rescuers arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, both men in the BMW — the 26-year-old driver and the 36-year-old passenger — were pronounced dead by medical personnel. Meanwhile, the 45-year-old driver of the Toyota died in a medical facility.
Traffic safety expert from CSDD, Oskars Irbitis, notes — it is quite clear that there was a significant speeding violation, and at least one of the drivers was driving extremely recklessly.
The expert points out that this section of the road is very winding and does not correspond to the speed at which the participants in the accident were likely traveling.
Based on the traces visible at the scene, it can be assumed that the BMW driver lost control, first veered into the ditch, managed to get out of it, and then crossed into the oncoming lane, where he collided with the Toyota.
However, the entire course of the incident will be studied as part of the initiated criminal process, including determining whether the drivers had consumed intoxicating substances. Several bottles of alcohol were scattered around, and the smell of alcohol was also present in the air. It has already been established that neither of the drivers had a driver's license.
Returning to the eyewitness video, his actions will also be assessed, and a decision on punishment will be made if necessary.
Ļoti smaga avārija Madonas novadā, iespējams pat 180 km/h ātrumā pic.twitter.com/DYkgY5gnKU
— iAuto.lv (@iAutolv) March 21, 2026
"Dear drivers and witnesses. If you see that something has happened, the first thing you need to do is call the rescuers, immediately report to the police, notify the emergency services, call for urgent medical assistance. And do not walk around the scene, do not trample on the traces, do not shove a camera in the faces of the victims, do not film the deceased, and so on. Such actions can even be interpreted as a criminal offense," Irbitis noted.
The length of the recorded video is one minute and nine seconds. This needs to be added to the time it took for the man to exit the vehicle, find his phone, approach the scene, and start filming. It is also unknown how quickly after recording he called emergency services. If he was the first to arrive at the accident scene, several minutes were lost during which medical personnel could have provided assistance to the victims.
"In such situations, when a really serious accident has occurred at high speed and when every minute counts, the sooner the call is made to the emergency services, the ambulance, and the faster professionals capable of providing assistance arrive, the more lives may be saved. It all depends on the situation. In this case, a call would have helped because the medical service has its algorithms, its processes for how to give instructions over the phone on what to do," noted Mikelis Pukitis, the chief specialist of the first aid training system organization department of the Emergency Medical Service.
The medic emphasizes that a minute in providing assistance is a lot. For example, 4–5 minutes without oxygen can already cause irreversible brain damage.
"If a person is conscious, we can communicate with him, he can tell how he feels. In such a situation, it is best not to move him, as injuries can vary, and a traffic accident is one of the situations where the spine may be damaged. Then the algorithm prescribes trying not to move the victim to avoid worsening the situation. But it is essential to stay close to this person all the time. If we are several people providing assistance, then someone can be near each victim to monitor their condition and whether it is worsening. If it worsens, appropriate actions must be taken. If it is cold outside, a thermal blanket can be used — at least cover them without moving them unnecessarily. This is one of the things that can be done if a person has been injured in an accident and is lying on the ground.
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