After the fatal accident on the Trakia Motorway near Yambol with 3 victims, including 2 children, in the studio of “Hello, Bulgaria” on "Nova TV" Iliya Shpatov tells about his fatal day. On November 15, 2025, he survived a collision in the oncoming lane on the same highway, when three people died, among them his parents.
“On November 15, 2025, we set off early in the morning after 7:30 on the Trakia Motorway. Shortly after 208 km in the direction of Burgas, a car moving in the right lane suddenly lost control, its front end headed towards the guardrail and jumped over the guardrail on our side like a springboard. It was so close that my father could not react and apply the brakes. At that time, we were moving in the left lane because we were overtaking another car. My father decided to switch from the left to the right lane, but it just missed us. My parents died, and I remember everything up until the moment of the collision itself, after which I fell unconscious for about 10-15 minutes. When I woke up, I saw the worst sight in my life. There was glass everywhere, blood, I saw my lifeless parents. I was simply frozen. There were people around and I tried to raise my hand to signal that I was alive,” said Shpatov.
The Stara Zagora District Prosecutor's Office has initiated pre-trial proceedings. To date, there is still no auto-technical expertise.
„On May 27 of this year, representatives of the prosecutor's office and a team from the RIA went to the scene of the incident. Since November, the guardrail has not been touched and in many places along the highway there are deformed metal fences. What puzzled me was that the thickness of the guardrail itself was between 3.5 mm and 5 mm”, the victim pointed out.
According to his research, the guardrails are designed to stop a car with a total mass of 1,500 kg, moving at a speed of between 90 and 110 km. However, the speed limit on highways is 140 km/h. „I wonder who drew up the project for the guardrails on „Trakia” and who approved it”, added Shpatov. He called on the regional minister to take action.
Road expert and designer Eng. Vladimir Zhiyanski joined the topic. “There are two manufacturers of guardrails - in Pernik and Plovdiv. They know very well that the barrier structures are not suitable for a highway. Measures should have been taken years ago”, he is categorical.
The expert explained that the guardrails are tested through crash tests, which are conducted under polygon conditions. In these tests, the metal fences are resistant. “But tests on a highway are one thing, and tests on a highway are another. And it is not true that concrete structures are more dangerous”, Zhiyanski concluded.