The accident occurred in the very center of Białystok in January last year. The 23-year-old explained that there was a drizzle and the visibility was also hampered by the lights of street Christmas decorations. She also said that a six-year-old boy ran under the wheels. The court suspended her 10-month prison sentence. The boy who was hit at the crossing suffered very serious injuries.
The District Court in Białystok maintained a ten-month suspended prison sentence for a young woman who hit a 6-year-old child on a pedestrian crossing in the city center in January last year.
The convicted 23-year-old woman is also ordered to pay PLN 5,000. PLN compensation to the injured party, the court also imposed a three-year ban on her from driving any motor vehicles.
The child was hit at a crosswalk Collisive Podlasie
He was crossing the street with his mother and brother
The accident occurred at a pedestrian crossing on Lipowa Street. A passenger car hit a six-year-old boy – a Belarusian, who was crossing the road with his mother and brother.
The child was taken to hospital with very serious injuries, including: fracture of the base of the skull. The family is currently in Germanytreatment continues there.
The prosecutor's office accused the woman of intentionally violating traffic regulations. When approaching a pedestrian crossing, she did not slow down, did not give way to the pedestrian and caused an accident, causing serious injuries to the boy.
She claimed that visibility was also hindered by the lights of street Christmas decorations
According to the accused, the weather conditions were difficult at that time, it was drizzling, and visibility was also hampered by the lights of street Christmas decorations. She claimed that she slowed down before crossing and signaled with her hand for a woman with two children to cross. Since she didn't react, she didn't stop. According to her version, the boy ran from her left side directly under the wheels of the car.
In this case, the prosecutor's office demanded a suspended prison sentence of one year, but also a longer – than the first-instance court – i.e. 5-year driving ban and compensation for the injured party; Ultimately, however, she did not appeal. This was done by the defense, which wanted an acquittal on the assumption that the mother and child contributed to the accident with their behavior at the crossing, or a lighter penalty – a fine or community service.
Court: she could have stopped before crossing
The injured boy's attorney also filed an appeal; he wanted a more severe penalty, without suspension, and a longer driving ban.
The District Court in Białystok dismissed both appeals on Monday and upheld the verdict. It is now final.
The appellate court found that there were no obstacles related to the time of year, day or weather that prevented the car from stopping before the crossing.
He also pointed out that the driver is obliged to react not only to people who are already at the crossing, but also to those who are approaching him.
As Judge Przemysław Wasilewski said in his justification, it was irrelevant (the defense drew attention to it as an argument that pedestrians contributed to the accident) whether the boy actually ran through the crossing and his mother did not hold his hand. The judge emphasized that the pedestrians were crossing from the left side of the driver to the right side, so they were in its lane after they had already crossed the left lane and the road axis.
Main photo source: Collisive Podlasie