The prosecutor's office wants a sentence of two years and two months in prison for a motorcyclist accused of fatally hitting a 91-year-old pedestrian in the village of Hornostaje Osada (Podlaskie Voivodeship). Defense – acquittal from the charge of causing this accident. The motorcyclist did not have a driving license and was under the influence of alcohol.
The accident occurred in June 2023 in the village of Hornostań Osada near Monieki (Podlaskie). The prosecutor's office accuses the 41-year-old motorcyclist of intentionally violating road safety rules, driving without a driving license and being under the influence of alcohol (a blood test showed 0.74 per mille), misjudged the situation, did not adjust his speed to the conditions and hit a pedestrian crossing the road. .
The defendant only pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and without a license, but not to causing a fatal accident. The District Court in Białystok closed the court proceedings on Thursday, and the parties made their closing arguments.
“Intentionally violated safety rules in land traffic”
The prosecutor's office considers it proven that the accused intentionally violated the safety rules in land traffic because he drove a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol, drove too fast and fatally hit a pedestrian. Proc. Jolanta Banasiuk from the District Prosecutor's Office in Białystok emphasized that the accused “actually behaved as if he were not bound by road traffic rules, the observance of which is supposed to protect the life and health of participants.”
“There is no doubt that driving under the influence of alcohol is common and requires special stigmatization,” she said in her final speech. She requested a total penalty of two years and two months in prison, a lifetime driving ban, and PLN 10,000 each. PLN compensation for the victim's relatives – subsidiary prosecutors in this case, and PLN 5,000. PLN cash benefit for a social purpose.
The representative of the subsidiary prosecutors supported the application for a penalty and submitted applications for compensation for damage, compensation and compensation.
The driver claims that he “had no way to avoid the accident”
The defense is of the opinion that the motorcycle driver cannot be blamed for the accident because – in its opinion – taking into account one of the possible pedestrian traffic variants, the motorcyclist had no opportunity to avoid the collision.
Mec. Rafał Charkiewicz referred to the opinion of an expert who examined the circumstances of the hit-and-run. He said that in one of the variants of the course of events accepted by the expert, it could be said that the pedestrian suddenly and quickly entered the road, and also came out from behind the car standing on the roadside, and the driver had no chance to avoid the collision.
Therefore, recognizing that there were doubts in the case that could not be removed, the defense attorney requested that his client be acquitted of the charge of causing the accident. He pointed out that there was no sign on the road at that time stating that it was a built-up area (with a speed limit of 50 km/h), and the motorcyclist was driving “slightly faster”. In undeveloped areas, the speed limit is 90 km/h.
As for driving a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol, the defense wants a conditional discontinuation of the proceedings against the accused and payment of PLN 5,000. PLN cash benefit and a one-year driving ban, or PLN 5,000. PLN fine.
The defendant himself briefly supported his defense attorney's conclusions. “I really had no way to avoid this collision,” he said in his last words.
The judgment of the Białystok district court is to be announced next week.
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