Three young lives lost in car wreck

Photo: Eero Vabamägi

Saturday night saw a severe traffic accident in Ida-Viru County with three young people perished. On basis of immediate information available, the police suspects risky driving. 

Preliminary data shows a man of 27 lost control of his BMW exiting a gas station in Koogu Village, Aseri Parish with the rear end of the vehicle sliding into opposite lane at right turn. The woman (40) driving a bus headed from Narva towards Tallinn could do nothing to avoid the collision.

Just before the accident, the young people visited the Olerex gas station store. A local wrote Postimees saying the people in the car were good friends. The reader said the BMW squealed its tyres as it took off.

Working at the cafe nearby, at the time of the accident, Kerli Soomer said she had just went outside with the cook to glance at the rainbow in the skies. She remembers it vividly as in the parking lot, right under the bow, there was a young lady dancing.

A few minutes later, at 8:55 pm, the selfsame lady was laying on the ground next to the damaged car. Frantically, a man who had been in the same parking lot with his vehicle was attempting to resuscitate her. The eyewitness said the man had run to the car right after the crash and tried with all his might to open its doors to save the young people.

In a couple of minutes, police and ambulance showed up, to declare two of the victims – passengers, a woman of 20 and a man (21) – dead on the spot. Taken to the hospital a woman of 21 died there early yesterday morning.

Also hospitalised was the driver who escaped the Ida-Viru Central Hospital that very night and was apprehended on Sunday at 1:45 pm to be taken to Jõhvi jail.

The police would not comment circumstances of the escape yesterday. It was not clear if the man escaped for fear of punishment of because of shock.

Driver to blame

By yesterday afternoon, however, the police was convinced it was the very driver who caused the crash. It was a combination of wet asphalt and wrong approach to driving. On top of that, the man was long known to the police.  

«He is a hooligan driver, let’s put it that way,» said Pavel Reškin of Eastern police prefecture, adding that the tragic accident was «purely because of the driver.»

«He is constantly in our focus because of drifting, which is his favourite pastime,» specified Mr Reškin. To the knowledge of the police, the driver has personally arranged illegal drifting competitions in Ida-Viru County and attended such events all over Estonia.

Mr Reškin could not recount how many times he had already been punished by the police, but it had obviously «not been enough and, sadly, all these punishments resulted not in changed behaviour.»

Danger spot

Having lived near the accident site for 13 years and the village elder for two years, Kristel Allikmäe said the exit from the gas station has troubled the locals for quite a while. To her knowledge, this was the third severe accident here, at least.

«[The exit] is dangerous. A hundred percent dangerous,» she said with conviction. «Here, the speeds are high. I you don’t get going at once, you might be in the way of a large bus or truck if they do not slow down.»

Just recently, village people were collecting signatures for something to be done with the dangerous place. Ms Allikmäe says it would be better with separate exit and entry built for the gas station.

Having sent the signatures to Road Administration, nothing really happened except for a few phone calls. «Now, perhaps?» think the locals.

Regarding the driver, criminal procedure was launched pursuant to penal code citing negligence regarding traffic requirements and behaviour leading to two or more deaths. If convicted, imprisonment up to 12 years may result.  

During this week, expert analysis is expected to confirm or deny prior drug or alcohol use by the driver.

«Hear me, you drivers: think about what you are doing,» said Pavel Reškin, the police official. «The more so, when [driving] with passengers. Please do not risk the lives of yourselves as well as the others.»