3 hypotheses for Ungheni accident

The Prosecutors’ Office (PO) of the Ungheni district examines three versions for the August 9 accident, which caused the deaths of 11 people. The prosecutors say that the crash happened either due to break system glitches, or due to health issues the driver may have had, or due to a steering error. Law enforcers have determined that the driver was working outside his schedule, at the time of the accident, reports Info-Prim Neo. Victoria Popov, prosecutor at the Ungheni district PO, stated on Tuesday, August 14, during a press conference, that the driver had made a trip to Ungheni at 6:00am. The next trip, to Morenii Noi, was scheduled for 10am, but the driver had decided to do an extra round, outside of his schedule; hence, the registered hour of the accident, at 7:40am. Victoria Popov mentioned that three technical experts from Chisinau joined the investigation, in order to determine the exact circumstances of the tragedy. Meanwhile, the experts are to determine whether the distance from Ungheni till Morenii Noi, i.e. 15 kilometers, can be covered in 34 minutes, as indicated in the schedule. The test is necessary, since it is assumed that the driver had exceeded the speed limit. Crash victims told investigators that the driver had turned the engine off, several times, in order to save some fuel. The passengers who survived the crash say that the panic had started when the bus drifted off the highway and a smell of burnt rubber spread through the bus. Anatol Girbu, prosecutor at Ungheni district PO, stated that the bus had been checked on that day, and the mechanic had found some hand brake glitches and had asked for their removal. Despite this fact, he signed the driver’s itinerary sheet. Ungheni District Prosecutor Eduard Florea stated that the driver, who died in the crash, had been sanctioned on two previous occasions, in 2011 and in the current year, for overloading the vehicle. Additionally, it has been noted that the route administrators had also given him a harsh penalty in the past. Criminal proceedings were started on this case, on the charge of violation of traffic security regulations or of abuse of the means of transport by the driver. Additionally, the prosecutors have ordered an investigation, to determine if the administrators bear any responsibility for the crash. The accident happened on Thursday, August 9, near Moreni (Ungheni district). The Mercedes-Benz bus, which was serving the Morenii Noi – Ungheni route, did not enter a curve correctly, thus drifting off the highway and into a ravine. As a result, 11 people died, including 2 minors. 41 people are still hospitalized, some of them in a very bad state.