Over the first 10 months of 2019, 26 road traffic accidents involving drivers who fled the scene occurred within the Vitebsk region. These incidents resulted in 4 fatalities. All drivers who left the scenes of these road traffic accidents were located by traffic police officers.
In Orsha, a driver who hit a teenager at a pedestrian crossing has been identified. The accident took place in the evening of the 10th on Karl Marx Street in Orsha. The driver, operating a passenger car, struck a teenager who was crossing the roadway at an unregulated pedestrian crossing. As a result of the road traffic accident, the 16-year-old youth sustained bodily injuries and was taken to the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Hospital. The driver fled the scene of the incident. Law enforcement officers, after examining video surveillance recordings along the vehicle's likely route, identified the make of the car. The driver was a resident of Orsha, born in 1967.
It is not uncommon for drivers, upon realising what has happened, to return to the scene of the tragedy.
Thus, on the evening of November 12, in the urban-type settlement of Podsvilye, Gluboksky district, a 46-year-old resident of Gluboksky district, driving an Opel Vectra car along Sovetskaya Street, hit a 50-year-old local resident who was moving in the same direction along the edge of the roadway. As a result of the collision, the pedestrian sustained bodily injuries, from which she died at the scene. The woman was not marked with a retroreflector. The driver left the scene of the accident, but returned to the scene of the tragedy after some time.
The State Automobile Inspectorate reminds that leaving the scene of a road traffic accident in which one is involved is punishable by an administrative fine ranging from five to twenty-five basic units or deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for up to two years.
In accordance with Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, for committing a road traffic accident that caused death or grievous bodily harm, the penalty is correctional labor for up to 2 years, or restriction of liberty for up to 5 years.
Willful endangerment of a person, according to Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, is punishable by arrest for up to 6 months or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
The search for fleeing drivers is a matter of time; sooner or later, every "fugitive" will face justice, and certainly, the judgment of their own conscience.
As practice shows, in many such cases, pedestrians themselves are to blame, and if the driver's innocence is proven, then they bear no legal responsibility for the person they hit. It would be useful here to recall how to behave in case of hitting a pedestrian.
The most important thing in such a situation is not to leave the scene of the accident, call an ambulance and the traffic police (GAI). If possible, find witnesses in whose presence the scene of the collision should be documented. Also, it is important to provide first aid to the victim yourself. By doing this, the driver will protect themselves from further trouble.