In the serious accident on Sofia's “Chelopeshko Shose“ on the evening of June 5, 2026, two people died, and the total number of injured is between 15 and 25 people, with over 7 of them in critical condition.
The accident was caused by a race between two cars, moving at over 150 km/h, one of which crashed into a public transport bus on line 119, as a result of which it overturned sideways.
A 27-year-old man (a foreign citizen) died on the spot, and later in ISUL Hospital a second 31-year-old man died from severe polytrauma. Both were passengers on the bus.
At least 7-8 people have severe head injuries, fractures and polytraumas. Among them are two 15-year-old boys and the 61-year-old bus driver.
10 ambulances were sent to the scene. The injured were distributed to the hospitals “St. Anna“, VMA, ISUL and “Pirogov“.
Heavy and total damage was caused to both cars. The public transport bus was seriously deformed and turned sideways in the ditch. The road section from the junction for “Kazichene“ to the exit of the “Chelopechene“ district remained completely blocked for hours while fire and police teams cleared the debris and secured the area. The Ministry of Interior indicated that the detour route for passing cars is through the “Botunec” neighborhood.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the drivers of the two cars were driving without a license (incompetent) and were using invalid or foreign driver's licenses. The scene is being inspected by the Traffic Police and forensic experts.
One of the cars crashed into the bus from the side and overturned it on one side, almost completely crashing into it. This was stated by Sofia Deputy City Prosecutor Angel Kanev to journalists at the scene of the incident. He added that many people were traveling on the bus, including children, BTA reports.
In one of the cars - “Audi” there were two people arguing with each other about who exactly was driving the car. They do not have driving licenses. The breathalyzer tests were negative, Kanev added. There is no braking distance, and one of the cars swept away a public transport stop 25 meters below the place where the bus was hit, Angel Kanev also reported.
According to him, it was most likely a race.
Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev expressed his condolences to journalists at the scene of the accident, when only the first victim was known.
Three men injured in the accident were admitted to the emergency department of the Military Medical Academy (MMA), the hospital's press center reported. One of the injured has a fractured lower limb, a traumatic brain injury and a spinal injury. The second has a fractured lower limb, and the third has a chest injury, the MMA added. The transported patients are admitted to intensive care.
In less than a year, this is the second very similar incident involving a public transport bus and involving some people who were clearly driving far above the speed limit, which indicates a systemic problem, Diana Rusinova, chairwoman of the “European Center for Transport Policies” association, told journalists at the scene of the incident, quoted by BTA.