Tomasz Mencina, the new deputy mayor of Warsaw, is facing prosecutorial charges, and a trial is underway in his case. He himself claims he is innocent and has requested that the case be dismissed. It concerns the death of a young rollerblader in Bielany.
Tomasz Mencina (he agreed to give his full name – ed.) was on Wednesday appointed deputy mayor of Warsaw. Since that day, as reported by the city hall, “he has managed and coordinated the work of the following organizational units: Infrastructure Office, Corporate Governance Office and Road Traffic Management Office, City Property and State Treasury Office, Geodesy and Cadastre Office.”
The media recalled that the new vice president has been charged by the prosecutor. Tomasz Mencina is accused of “failing to ensure safe use of a building (bicycle path – ed.) and failing to maintain a building in a condition that ensures its safe use”
Did the fact that a local government official faces prosecutorial charges not raise doubts in the city hall about appointing him to such an important position? We asked the city hall spokeswoman about this on Wednesday. “The case in question has been ongoing for almost 9 years, with around 3 years in court. There have been no verdicts or clear findings in it. Considering the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence, linking these issues is absolutely unjustified,” Monika Beuth, city hall spokeswoman, wrote back to us.
A teenager died on an unfinished path
This is about the trial concerning the death of a roller-skater who was riding a 150-meter path on the Vistula Escarpment in the Bielany district. The path connects Kolektorska Street, which is located at the top, with Gdańska Street, which runs below. When the tragedy occurred on March 31, 2017, the path was not completed – neither formally nor in fact. The traffic management project was still waiting for approval, and at both ends there were no so-called “joins” – the asphalt was broken. 16-year-old Magda went down the path on roller skates. She lost her balance on a strip of loose earth, just before the sidewalk. She fell right under the wheels of an oncoming car. She died on the spot.
The girl's parents claimed from the beginning that the road was neither well secured nor properly marked.
The indictment covers four people who, according to investigators, failed to fulfill their obligations in connection with the construction of the bicycle path.
The second local government official, apart from Tomasz Mencina, accused of “failing to ensure the safe use of a building structure” is the former deputy mayor of Bielany, Artur W.
Both face a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to two years.
Nobody admits it
The third person to be put on trial is a Bielany official who supervised the construction of the path as an investor – Tomasz G. The prosecutor's office accuses him of “taking away the completed construction works of the bicycle path in a state that left a strip of undeveloped land with a difference in level of 20 centimetres between the end of the path and the road lane of Gdańska Street and failing to secure the path thus left, which exposed the users of the path to direct danger of loss of life or serious damage to health”.
The fourth person is the construction manager – Waldemar W. from the Road Repair and Maintenance Plant. He was accused of “completion of construction works in a manner that did not ensure the safety of use of the building, which could have caused a threat to people using the bicycle path and exposed users of the path to direct danger of loss of life”.
Tomasz G. and Waldemar W. face up to three years in prison.
None of the accused have pleaded guilty, the trial is still ongoing.
Tomasz Mencina assured that he did not interfere in the investment process and requested that the proceedings be discontinued.
“The charges against me are a political matter,” he told a TVP3 Warszawa reporter on Wednesday, September 11, after being nominated as vice-president of the capital.
Main image source: TVN24