Piotrków Trybunalski. Accident on the A1 motorway. Extradition of Sebastian M. Information from the prosecutor's office

A conference on this matter was organized on Saturday by the spokeswoman of the National Prosecutor's Office, Anna Adamiak. She said that the Polish side knew about the decision of the Emirati court a little earlier and now decided to inform the public about it.

– First of all, we welcome this information very positively, because it means that the Emirati court – and this court is the first-instance court participating in the extradition proceedings – has found that there are no legal obstacles specified in the bilateral agreement on legal cooperation in criminal matters between Poland and UAEas well as legal obstacles specified in the internal legislation of this country – because each country has internal regulations and extradition institutions as part of its procedure. This decision can be appealed, there is an appeal, any party can submit such a remedy (…) of course, we expect that Mr. Sebastian M. and his defense attorney will question this decision – said prosecutor Anna Adamiak at a meeting with journalists.

New arrangements regarding the extradition of Sebastian M., suspected of causing a fatal car accident in mid-September 2023 on the A1 motorway, in which a family of three died, were announced on the website Adam Bodnar.

“I received very good news from the United Arab Emirates,” Bodnar wrote on social media. He pointed out that on January 9, the court in Dubai issued a decision on the potential extradition of Sebastian M., wanted by Poland, who left the country after tragic consequences. road accidentin which the entire family died.

“The court's decision is not final, the parties have the right to appeal within 30 days. Then the case will be considered by the court of second instance, which is the Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates,” Bodnar further noted, emphasizing that this ruling is “significant progress in efforts to bringing the suspect to Poland.

He added that “this is not the end of the work”, while thanking the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski and his ministry, the National Prosecutor's Office and “all officials, diplomats and prosecutors working on this case.” “To be continued…” he concluded.

The representative of the family of the accident victims commented on the information provided by Minister Bodnar.

Attorney Łukasz Kowalski said in an interview with TVN24 that the victims' family welcomed this information. She is also satisfied with the progress of the investigation into the accident itself, which was moved from Piotrków Trybunalski to Katowice.

– The volumes of files are gradually expanding, new expert opinions are coming in and, as I said, I am in constant contact, so there is only one thing missing – bringing Mr. Sebastian M. before the Polish justice system, and this makes the extradition process even impossible. After yesterday's information, I am hopeful that this process is almost over. Of course, Minister Bodnar informed in his entry on the Attorney Kowalski.

Sebastian M. is a suspect in one of the most tragic road stories in recent years in Poland. On September 16, 2023, a speeding BMW on the A1 highway near Piotrków Trybunalski hit with enormous force a Kia carrying a three-person family returning home from the sea – a married couple and their five-year-old son. Their car burst into flames and everyone died.

Immediately after the accident, firefighters reported that “two passenger cars collided.” On September 18, the Piotrkówka police issued a statement in which it was written that “for unknown reasons, the driver of the Kia hit the energy-absorbing barriers, then the car caught fire.” There was no information that a BMW was also involved in the accident.

On September 24, in another statement from the Piotrków police, it was written that “a Kia and a BMW were involved in the accident.” “The police secured a number of traces and interviewed witnesses. We also obtained a number of camera recordings, which we hope will help explain what was the cause of this huge tragedy. The subject of this investigation is also to clarify whether the behavior of the BMW driver had a direct impact on the occurrence of the incident in question.” – they then told the uniformed officers.

An arrest warrant was issued for the BMW driver, and the image of Sebastian M. was revealed. The District Prosecutor's Office in Piotrków Trybunalski accused him of causing a fatal accident, which is punishable by up to eight years in prison. The family's representative submitted an application to change the qualification of the offense to murder with a higher penalty, with possible intent.

Sebastian M., however, managed to leave Poland and eventually ended up in Dubai, where he remains to this day.