A broken-down SUV was reportedly in front of the first truck believed to have been at the beginning of the chain-reaction crash on the Trakia Motorway. Dimitar Dimitrov, executive director of the Chamber of Motor Carriers in Bulgaria, said this in an interview on NOVA, уточнявайки, че информацията е получил от представител на Агенция „Пътна инфраструктура“.
Dimitrov did not say whether the broken-down vehicle had been found at the scene or whether its presence was connected to the start of the collision. He insisted, however, that in conditions of limited visibility, the emergency lane should be marked with markers to provide drivers with guidance. According to him, similar practices are used in other countries.
„The condition of the road infrastructure is poor,“ Dimitrov said. He described the behavior of some drivers as irresponsible, but noted that the driver of a heavy goods vehicle had exited wearing a reflective vest and had signaled to approaching vehicles.
The investigation continues
Forty-four witnesses have been questioned in the case, said Doychin Doychev, the prosecutor of the Yambol District Prosecutor's Office. According to the prosecution, it remains to be established whether the first truck reduced its speed, whether it stopped and whether there had been an obstruction. Investigators are still not speaking of charges being brought.
The National Investigation Service took over the investigation because of the complexity of the case. The work is being directed by the Yambol District Prosecutor's Office, with vehicle-technical and forensic medical examinations still to be carried out. They must clarify the mechanics of the crashes, the causes of the victims' deaths and the extent of the material damage.
Experts cited fog and a lack of warnings
Race car driver and road safety expert Rumen Dunev pointed to the dense fog, the lack of information boards and visibility markers, as well as the use of inappropriate lights, as factors in the incident. „All these factors, together with the fog that descended, led to this entire situation,“ he said.
Dunev also said that winter tires can reduce the braking distance at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour to 16 meters. Vladimir Todorov of the Bulgarian Association of Road Accident Victims insisted that funds from fines should be used for electronic safety systems. Yasen Ishev, chairman of the Scientific and Technical Union for Transport, also pointed to the need for early warning systems.
Sources: nova.bg