A police officer was sentenced to 5 years in prison for a fatal traffic accident
The Dubrovytskyi District Court in Rivne Oblast sentenced a Kryvyi Rih patrol police officer to five years in prison. In April 2025, while under the influence of alcohol, he was involved in a traffic accident in the Rivne region, and his colleague, who was a passenger, was killed.
The Dubrovytsia District Court of Rivne Oblast handed down a sentence to the Kryvyi Rih patrol police officer who was involved in the fatal traffic accident. According to the State Bureau of Investigations, the man was driving under the influence of alcohol.
The accident occurred on April 26, 2025, at around 3:00 a.m. near the village of Rudnya in the Sarny District of Rivne Oblast. At the time, the police officer was on a business trip in the Rivne region. He was driving his own car. A colleague was with him in the car.
The car crashed into concrete slabs
According to the investigation, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The car veered off the road and crashed into concrete slabs that had been installed on the roadside. As a result of the accident, the passenger sustained fatal injuries. He died at the scene. The driver himself was also injured. He was hospitalized with injuries.
After the accident, law enforcement officers tested the driver for alcohol. His blood alcohol level was found to be 1.57 per mille. This is nearly eight times the legal limit for drivers.
The men had been drinking before the trip
During the investigation, investigators determined that the men had been drinking alcohol before the trip. At the same time, the police officer himself did not admit that he was the one behind the wheel. During the investigation, he claimed that his deceased colleague had been driving the car.
However, this version of events was not confirmed. Investigators conducted the necessary forensic examinations and gathered additional evidence. They confirmed that it was indeed the police officer who was behind the wheel at the time of the accident. Thus, the investigation established that the man, while under the influence of alcohol, was driving the car, lost control, and caused the accident in which his colleague was killed.
The court sentenced him to 5 years in prison
The court found the police officer guilty under Part 3 of Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This provision pertains to a violation of traffic safety rules by a person under the influence of alcohol, if it resulted in the death of the victim. For this offense, the court sentenced him to five years in prison.
However, the verdict is not yet final. The defendant has the right to appeal it in the appellate court. The State Bureau of Investigation emphasized that the investigation established the actual circumstances of the accident, despite the driver’s attempt to shift responsibility for driving the vehicle onto his deceased colleague. Thus, the court rendered the final judgment on the police officer’s actions. According to the court’s decision, he will serve five years in prison if the sentence takes effect and is not altered as a result of the appeal.
