The head of a religious community from Kherson region, Pavlo Pleshivtsev, at the time of the fatal traffic accident in Kyiv on June 5 was carrying out a taxi order. A 41-year-old female passenger was in the car with him.
This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office to “Ukrainska Pravda”.
The woman is one of three people injured in this accident. She sustained multiple fractures, is currently in hospital and is giving testimony to investigators. The victim ordered the car via a mobile application. The prosecutor’s office does not name the taxi service, but Pleshivtsev himself confirmed during the court hearing that he was cooperating with the company Bolt.
To investigators the passenger said that at first the driver behaved politely. However, afterwards he began to maneuver dangerously, shifting from lane to lane and rapidly increasing speed. The frightened woman complained to the driver, but he ignored her. When the speed became critical, the passenger asked to stop the car immediately, but Pleshivtsev did not react. Moments later the uncontrolled car at speed crashed into a pedestrian crossing with people.
These testimonies completely refute the defense’s version. During the selection of a preventive measure the driver’s lawyer told the court that the cause of the tragedy was a technical malfunction — allegedly “something like a loss of vehicle control” occurred. However, the passenger’s statements prove that the driver consciously ignored the danger and calls to stop, the prosecutor’s office noted.
Earlier we wrote that Pavlo Pleshivtsev was taken into custody for 60 days.
Recall that, according to the investigation, on June 5 Pleshivtsev, behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz, on a curved section of the road exceeded the speed limit, lost control and drove into an underground passage, where people were present.
As a result of the accident, four pedestrians were killed – two police officers, a woman and a 12-year-old boy. Three other people were injured.
The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that the driver was sober at the time of the accident.
According to MOST, Pavlo Pleshivtsev is the head of the religious community of evangelical Christian Baptists “Church of the village of Pidstepne”, registered in the Oleshky community.