Boy of 16 dead after tinkering with stranger's car

Photo: Jürgen Puistaja / Kanal 2

In Võru County late last Friday a man aged 55 hit a lad of 16 in the face, the latter having tinkered with the vehicle of his acquaintance. Afterwards, the boy died in hospital. 

On July 15th at 12:33 am, police was summonsed to a plot in Kuldre Village, Urvaste Parish where a person calling said a man hit a boy of 16 who fell and had convulsions. An ambulance showed up as well.

Initial data says a woman saw three youths tinkering with her car. Fearing to intervene, she called an acquaintance (55). As the man arrived upon the scene, the lads ran away from the vehicle. The man hit one who passed by him in the face with his fist. 

The lads were all minors and had consumed alcohol.

Talking to a Kanal 2 TV reporter, one of them said the boy who was hit just happened to pass by and had actually not been tinkering with the vehicle.

The ambulance crew detected no outer injuries with the victim. The lad was taken to the hospital where he died a day later. The data at hand suggests the death may have resulted from rupture of a swelling of brain artery.  

«Based on the initial opinion of the doctors we cannot definitely claim at the moment that the death was the result of the blow,» commented senior Southern district prosecutor Küllike Taits.

To clarify the details, Võru police has launched criminal proceedings. The man of 55 has been interrogated as suspect. Currently, there is no basis to arrest the man.

According to Võru police station major Anti Paap the first thing to do in such instances if call the police. «First thing, call the police and then see if it would be possible to intervene somehow in the situation or be limited to watching carefully what is being done and where the people are moving,» underlined the police chief.

Initially, criminal procedure was launched as based on physical abuse which may be altered during the proceedings.