The State Police has completed the investigation into a serious accident in the Dobele municipality, where a truck and a scheduled bus collided. It was later revealed that the truck driver had no driver's license and presented the police with a fake ID.
In Zemgale, the investigation into the criminal case regarding a serious traffic accident involving a scheduled bus, which occurred in February of this year in the Dobele municipality, has been completed.
The accident occurred on February 18 at around 18:50 in the Jaunberze parish on the Riga – Liepaja highway. A Volvo truck with a trailer entered the intersection, ignoring the "No Stopping" sign, and collided with a scheduled bus traveling from Riga to Liepaja.
As a result of the accident, the bus driver and five passengers were injured.
Later, the investigation established that the truck was driven by a 1990-born citizen of India, operating a vehicle registered in Lithuania. According to the police, the man failed to yield to the bus, which had the right of way.
The bus driver sustained particularly severe injuries.
During the investigation, he recounted that at the moment of the accident, he made eye contact with the truck driver and immediately realized that a collision was unavoidable. The bus driver did not veer into the oncoming lane as there were other vehicles present. He decided not to risk the lives of the passengers and remained in his lane. As a result of the collision, the bus driver had his leg amputated.
One of the passengers was also seriously injured — she was diagnosed with a fracture of the upper jaw, a fracture of the temporal bone, and other serious injuries.
One of the first to assist the injured bus driver was a woman driving behind the truck. As noted by the police, she remained calm after the accident, kept in contact with the ambulance service, and did everything possible until medical personnel arrived.
An examination showed that the truck driver was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, during the investigation, another serious violation was discovered — the man did not have a valid driver's license at all.
Moreover, after the accident, he presented police officers with a fake driver's license from the United Arab Emirates, which allegedly granted him the right to operate heavy vehicles.
The criminal case has now been forwarded to the prosecutor's office to initiate criminal proceedings. The man is charged with several offenses — violating traffic rules resulting in serious bodily harm, as well as using a forged document.
The maximum penalty for these offenses is up to eight years in prison.
The story of this accident has once again raised questions about the control of drivers' access to international freight transport and the verification of documents for heavy vehicle drivers.
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