On June 8, 2021, a terrible accident occurred in the center of Chelyabinsk, five cars collided.
According to the testimony of eyewitnesses, who then confirmed the recordings from the cameras, the driver of the white Volkswagen Passat was the culprit of the accident - the car drove into the oncoming lane at high speed, flew into a red light and rammed a Lada Granta going across.
Photo from the scene of the accident.
© Photo from the personal archive
There were three adults and four children in the car that was hit the hardest.
Passenger Diana Akulova died on the spot, her friend Regina was hospitalized with a pelvic fracture - later this injury was classified as serious bodily harm.
The children in the car escaped with bruises.
The families of the deceased and injured were informed about the tragedy.
Diana Akulova left two children: a 15-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter.
They grew up without a father and after the death of their mother began to live with relatives.
According to the sister of the deceased, Louise Shakurova, on the eve of her death, Diana changed jobs, got a job at a pipe rolling plant, began to earn more, rented a new home, she made many plans.
“My sister’s fate is not the easiest, she came from the village to the city in 2004, wandered around rented housing for a long time with her children.
And then she rented a lorry, she lived there.
Became happy!
May 29th was her birthday, 34 years old, she was all beaming.
She said that at the plant they want to train her as a manager and send her to work at a thermal resort near Chelyabinsk, ”says Louise.
The dead Diana Akulova.
© Photo from the personal archive
Maniac attack and epilepsy
Igor Pechenkin, who arranged the fatal accident, told investigators that he did not remember the moment of the accident.
The man assured that he had an epileptic seizure while driving - because of this, he allegedly violated traffic rules, which led to a collision.
According to him, the disease first manifested itself after he was attacked by a maniac.
In 2004, a serial killer was operating in Chelyabinsk, who attacked couples in love in a forest belt.
He killed men with a shot in the head, raped women, and then dealt with them.
Before the "forest killer" was caught, 5 people became his victims, including Igor Pechenkin.
The man managed to survive after a bullet wound to the head, but epileptic seizures became a consequence of the injury.
As the prosecutor in the case, Igor Ivanov, later stated, Pechenkin had not had any manifestations of the disease since 2018.
At the time of the terrible accident in the summer of 2021, Pechenkin had a valid driver's license - the medical board that issued him the document considered that he had the right to drive vehicles, although, as RT found out, according to the law, epilepsy is considered a contraindication for issuing a driver's license.
Expertise results
An examination carried out as part of the investigation showed that at the time of the accident, Pechenkin's blood contained traces of a drug, the use of which is prohibited from driving a car.
As a result, the article charged to the man was reclassified to a more severe one - now he is being tried for an accident committed while intoxicated.
Pechenkin himself stated that the doctor prescribed the medicine for him.
The sister of the deceased Diana does not believe Pechenkin's testimony about his supposedly unconscious state at the time of the accident.
“The recordings from the cameras show, and eyewitnesses said that immediately after the accident, Pechenkin got out of the car, began to look for something in the trunk, and called somewhere.
The doctor told us in court that an epileptic attack is a long time.
A person cannot immediately jump to his feet and start doing something, ”the relative of the deceased is convinced.
After examining the case file and camera recordings, experts concluded that the suspect was sane at the time of the accident, Igor Ivanov, senior assistant to the prosecutor of Chelyabinsk, told reporters.
“Experts concluded that Pechenkin was in good condition at the time of the accident.
He was adequate, understood what was happening around, and gave an account of his actions, ”said an employee of the Chelyabinsk prosecutor’s office.
Now the culprit of the accident is being tried under Part 4 of Art.
264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (driving a vehicle while intoxicated, negligently resulting in the death of a person).
A man can face from five to 12 years in prison.
The lawyer for the family of the deceased Diana, Yevgeny Saronin, is convinced that the defendant will not be able to avoid responsibility.
In his opinion, driving for a person with such a serious diagnosis was unacceptable in any case.
“Criminal liability for Pechenkin will come in any case.
The main point is that the person knew about his disease and still got behind the wheel.
Even though he didn't have the right to.
This, in my opinion, is the most egregious moment in the whole history, ”the lawyer emphasizes.
Apartment for children
From the very beginning of the investigation, Igor Pechenkin did not deny that he grossly violated traffic rules and became the culprit of the accident in which a person died.
After the tragedy, he independently sought out the victims and relatives of the deceased, offered them material assistance.
Sergey Sazanakov, Pechenkin's lawyer, spoke about this.
“Igor immediately expressed his intention to make amends,” the lawyer says.
- We spent a lot of time searching for victims, because we did not have access to the case materials.
We contacted the victims, and we compensated them in full for the damage they thought they had done.
We found the relatives of the deceased woman, as well as the victim.
Payments were made to both of them: 2.1 million rubles to the relatives of the deceased and another 500 thousand rubles to the injured woman.”
Diana's sister confirmed that a month after the death of a relative, she was offered compensation, but she did not agree to take the money right away.
“Pechenkin’s lawyer contacted us and offered 200,000 compensation.
I refused - at that time I had already buried my sister, we needed money when we were preparing the funeral.
Later I asked him to buy an apartment for the children.
They have no one left, no grandparents.
Pechenkin provided 2.1 million rubles, this money was spent on the purchase of real estate, ”explains Louise.
For the first six months after the accident, the nephews lived with her, then they moved to the cousin of their deceased mother, Ramzan Razhapov.
The man told reporters that he had already completed training at the school of guardians and was preparing to officially take custody of his orphaned nephews.
According to relatives, the children still have not recovered from the loss.
“Vadim, like a kid, held back for a long time - that is, he tried, on the contrary, to calm us down.
Me, my grandmother, my sister.
Ksyusha was constantly crying, hugging a big bear, our mother went completely crazy.
At first we lived on pills, ”said Louise.
Trial
The first meeting in the case of a fatal accident involving Pechenkin took place on April 15.
According to Igor Ivanov, senior assistant to the prosecutor of Chelyabinsk, now in court the prosecution presents evidence of the guilt of the defendant, and the testimony of witnesses is heard.
Sergei Sazanakov, Igor Pechenkin's lawyer, noted that the defense did not agree with the qualification of the defendant's actions in terms of the state of intoxication, in which, according to the examination, the man was at the time of the accident, the lawyer plans to petition for an additional study.
“We have more questions about the qualification of his actions and the assessment of the condition of my client.
During the preliminary investigation, my client stated that he did not remember what had happened and therefore could not testify about what had happened.
That episode with the maniac attacking him in 2004, the consequences of that attack, in our opinion, certainly had an impact on the situation, ”Sazanakov emphasizes.
The next hearing in the fatal accident case will take place on May 30.