In Kherson a car driver ran over local resident Mariya Slyva, who was crossing the roadway at a pedestrian crossing. The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries, and a month later she learned that police officers had closed the case.
In the report on the results of the traffic accident review, which the woman received from the Main Department of the National Police in Kherson region, it says that “the injured party sustained bodily injuries that are classified as minor”. Therefore the police did not see grounds to open a criminal case and held the car driver administratively liable, imposing a fine on him.
“In Kherson, — says Mariya Slyva, — life is hard not only because of shelling and drone attacks, but also because problems are caused by people who should be helping residents”.
The accident and a month of waiting
The road incident occurred on October 19, 2025, when Kherson pensioner Mariya Slyva was walking home after visiting the hospital where her husband was an inpatient.
“When, — the woman recounts, — I was walking across the roadway on the pedestrian crossing of the 200th Anniversary of Kherson Avenue, I was hit by a passenger car that I did not see because it was driving around another car that was letting me pass. I remember that I was on the crossing, then my hands ended up on the hood of a yellowish-green car, and – that was it”.
The woman regained consciousness already in the regional hospital to which the ambulance crew had taken her. Doctors diagnosed a concussion, a fracture of the nasal bones, bruises, soft tissue injuries and a stress-induced exacerbation of hypertension.
“For a day, — the woman says, — I was in intensive care, and then I was transferred to the maxillofacial surgery ward. Somewhere on the third day of my hospital stay I wondered why the police officers hadn’t come to see me. Then a friend came to me, and I asked her to find out from the police why they were ignoring me”.
The next day the friend came to Mariya with a police officer who said that he was the one who had gone to the scene of the accident.
“We, – the victim says, — talked, and I was sure that the police would do everything according to the law, that the driver of the car who hit me would be held accountable. But later I realized that after living 78 years I had remained naive”.
After the accident the woman could not give explanations to the police — because of the concussion she required treatment in the neurology department. Later doctors discovered other injuries. Additional examinations showed a fracture of the head of the right tibia and tears of the medial menisci of both knee joints.
“A month later, — says Mariya Slyva, — I decided to find out about the progress of the investigation. I call the police, and they tell me: “But the case is closed. The driver was brought to administrative responsibility and fined 425 hryvnias”. To say that such an answer shocked me is an understatement”.
The report on the results of the traffic accident review was signed by Police Captain Serhiy Zhvavets – senior investigator of the Department for the Investigation of Crimes in the Field of Transport of the Investigative Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kherson region.
The woman says that shortly after the accident the driver came to her: “Then I asked him to leave, because, firstly, I felt very ill. And secondly, it was about the third day after the incident, and, I think, it’s clear what psychological state I was in”.
In search of justice
Mariya Slyva called the hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. She said that in Kherson the driver who hit her at the pedestrian crossing was only held administratively liable and fined 425 hryvnias.
According to the woman, as a result of the accident she sustained injuries of moderate severity, as confirmed by medical documents.
“Shortly after that call, — the woman recounts, — I received a phone call from the police informing me that my case would be reviewed again. By the way, the case was entered into the Unified State Register of Pre-Trial Investigations only after the intervention of the female lawyer I turned to for legal assistance”.
Now the Kherson resident is trying to restore justice by lawful means: “I was a deputy of the Suvorovskyi District City Council, I always acted according to the law. I will act the same now, although these events have greatly shaken my trust in the people who stand guard over the law in Kherson, in particular, the police”.
According to Mariya Slyva, she is not seeking an overly harsh punishment for the driver who struck her: “I do not want to put the person in prison, but I believe that the punishment for that accident should be harsher than a fine of 425 hryvnias. And I would like to receive compensation, because the treatment was very expensive (I have all the supporting documents), as well as compensation for moral damages”.
In Ukraine, hitting a pedestrian at a crosswalk can have either administrative or criminal consequences for the driver — depending on the consequences of the road traffic accident.
If there are no victims in the accident or a person received minor injuries, the driver may be held administratively liable under Article 124 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (violation of traffic rules that caused a traffic accident).
In the case of bodily injuries, liability comes under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the rules of road safety or the operation of transport.
In particular, part one of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for criminal liability in cases when the victim has sustained injuries of moderate severity. These are injuries that are not life-threatening but cause prolonged health disorder or significant loss of ability to work. The degree of severity of such injuries is determined by a forensic medical examination.
Speaking about moral damage, the woman noted that the misfortune happened to her precisely when her 87-year-old seriously ill husband was hospitalized: «My husband needs special care, and I mostly take care of him because I know him best: we have been married for over 50 years. Therefore the accident and my treatment became a huge problem for us».
Now Mariya Slyva, with the help of a lawyer, is trying to achieve a fair investigation, and says that this will probably not be easy: “I have seen some of the case materials, and I am unpleasantly surprised by the police’s attempt to distort important facts. For example, a different location of the car that hit me is indicated, which makes it appear that I could have seen it while crossing the road, although in reality that was not the case”.
The woman notes that she was crossing the road at a permitted place and was confident that following the rules would guarantee safety, but…
“Living in Kherson, you try to protect yourself where possible. And it is very upsetting to end up in trouble where you did not expect it, and then to face the indifference of people whose duty is to help residents”, — says Mariya.